Repositório RCAAP

O projeto descrito no presente relatório enquadra-se no âmbito dos sistemas de informação, por possuir as características de armazenamento, organização e estruturação de dados, fornecendo e facilitando o acesso a informação. Surgiu com o objetivo de apresentar uma ideia, utilizando-se a tecnologia de Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) para identificação dos equipamentos, aprimorando assim o atual modelo de controle dos empréstimos no armazém do Departamento Acadêmico de Eletrônica (DAELN) da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR) que utiliza formulários de papel. Desenvolvido para uma plataforma web, o sistema contém uma base de dados criada em SQL, o servidor escrito em Node.js e para execução das páginas web foi utilizada a linguagem JavaSpript. O novo sistema focou-se na resolução das deficiências anteriores e na implantação de novas funcionalidades tais quais geração de relatórios e abate de equipamentos. Este projeto contribui com a universidade fornecendo um sistema de controlo eficaz, reduzindo a quantidade papel atualmente utilizada, proporcionado maior segurança aos equipamentos e também fornecendo informações relevantes aos seus utilizadores.

Esta disseração irá focar-se na análise de duas obras de terror e o seu contexto cultural. O foco principal será a comparação de culturas orientais e ocidentais com especial ênfase nas diferenças entre cada cultura e como estas dão forma ao que é considerado assustador. Com esta dissertação também procuro dar visibilidade a grandes obras de terror que considero subvalorizadas. Estas obras pouco convencionais que se situam fora do mainstream das duas culturas, no entanto espelham a versatilidade do género representativo, ao mesmo tempo que evidenciam a contextualização social e cultural. A opção pelo género da banda desenhada é ainda palco para a fuga à norma, a apresentação do terror, assim como a cultura do autor, os medos e ânsias promovidas pelo encontro extraordinário entre imagens e a palavra escrita – uma sinergia intercultural e representativa. A opção por um filme também irá permitir observar uma representação audiovisual da cultura ocidental, tendo em conta que os filmes de terror são um meio há muito usado para representar o espaço cultural e os medos e ansiedades da sociedade que os criou. Para concluír, esta dissertação irá também abordar e analizar conceitos tradutivos, particularmente o conceito de tradução cultural.

Carlos Manuel da Silva Pereira

Nos dias de hoje, com a globalização dos mercados e o aumento da competitividade entre as empresas, obriga a gestão de topo das organizações a uma utilização cada vez maior das Tecnologias e Sistemas de Informação no suporte das suas tarefas. Durante os últimos trinta anos, foi notório o desenvolvimento tecnológico, com um impacto relevante ao nível da operacionalidade de diversas funções empresariais, em particular na contabilidade. Com este trabalho de investigação pretendeu-se analisar o sucesso/insucesso na adoção de um software de Gestão de Tarefas e de Controlo Interno numa empresa de prestação de serviços na área contabilística/financeira, aqui denominada por “Empresa M”. Para o efeito foi adaptado o Modelo de DeLone e McLean sobre os Fatores de Sucesso para os Sistemas de Informação (SI), de modo a determinar os fatores responsáveis pelo sucesso do software referido. A avaliação do sucesso é aqui encarada sob uma visão abrangente que, de acordo com o modelo de DeLone e McLean, é constituída pelos seguintes constructos: Qualidade do Sistema, Qualidade do Serviço, Qualidade da Informação, Utilização, Satisfação do Utilizador e os Benefícios. Neste trabalho foi utilizada uma abordagem de investigação quantitativa para a obtenção de dados, através da realização de um questionário. Os resultados do estudo mostram que existe uma boa adoção ao software de Gestão de Tarefas e de Controlo Interno, sendo por isso considerada uma implementação de sucesso.

A busca pela eficiência energética nos edifícios tem levado as empresas, em particular as do setor de climatização, a desenvolver equipamentos cada vez mais eficientes e sustentáveis. Sendo as práticas de Ecodesign e a utilização de energia de fontes renováveis grandes aliadas nesse processo. As unidades de ventilação com recuperação de calor, se adequadamente dimensionadas tendo em conta os requisitos dos espaços a que serão afetas, são equipamentos fundamentais à garantia da qualidade do ar interior em edifícios com um reduzido consumo energético. O permutador de calor presente nessas unidades permite reduzir as necessidades de calor em ventilação diminuindo, assim, a energia consumida pelo equipamento. No estudo, é apresentada a análise e o dimensionamento de um sistema de produção de energia solar fotovoltaica para fornecer energia a uma gama de unidades de ventilação de duplo fluxo (insuflação/extração) com recuperador de energia. O estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a viabilidade económica de implementação do sistema em Portugal. Além de tornar a unidade de ventilação com recuperação de energia, através da utilização de energia de fonte renovável, um produto de alta eficiência energética e com ótima relação custo-benefício.

Este ensaio foca-se, de um ponto de vista existencialista, na reflexão do realizador sobre o ‘mundo absurdo’ que o rodeia. Baseando-se no movimento filosófico, pretende a análise sobre o realizador e autor reflexivos, estudando de que forma o autor se vê nos elementos que compõem a cena, como o protagonista e outros elementos cénicos. A revisão bibliográfica para os conceitos em análise assentou na literatura de Camus, no movimento da Nouvelle Vague, com o dispositivo de Godard em primeiro plano e ainda na pintura de Hopper. A componente empírica consistiu no desenvolvimento e conclusão da curta-metragem A Eternidade e Uma Noite, refletindo sobre a influência que os movimentos acima mencionados tiveram na sua construção.

Many drug-related problems are caused by drug interactions (DIs) that result from the pharmacological influence of one drug on another when taken together. DIs may have beneficial and predictable effects, but may also cause undesirable results, such as treatment ineffectiveness or serious adverse effects. There are a number of available databases with information about DIs. Although the information they provide is not always consensual, it is a useful tool in analysing the occurrence of potential drug interactions (PDIs) and in preventing unwanted or even fatal consequences for patients.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a peptide widely distributed throughout the body that is involved in various physiological processes, including the regulation of feeding behavior and energy homeostasis. 5-Carbamimidamido-2-(2,2-diphenylacetamido)-N-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl]pentanamide (BIBP 3226) is a selective NPY Y1 receptor antagonist with recognized application in bone regeneration studies, requiring quantification at picogram levels. Hence, BIBP 3226 determination is proposed here by a validated HPLC-MS/MS method, based on a reversed-phase Kinetex® core-shell C8 column (2.6 μm, 150 × 2.1 mm) at 30 °C, elution in isocratic mode using a mixture of acetonitrile and water (30:70, v/v), containing 0.1% (v/v) formic acid, at 0.25 mL min-1, detection in positive ionization mode, and data acquisition in selected reaction monitoring mode. Calibration curves were linear for concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 30 ng mL-1 with LOD and LOQ values as low as 0.1 and 0.3 pg in cell extracts and 16 and 48 pg in supernatant culture media, respectively. BIBP 3226 was successfully determined in cell extracts and supernatants obtained from internalization assays. Using similar exposure conditions, the amount of BIBP 3226 found in breast cancer cells (MCF7) was 72 to 657 times higher than that found in bone marrow cells (Wt C57BL/6 mice), providing an indirect indicator of NPY Y1 receptor expression.

Introduction In the context of work, labouring time is mainly spent in the sitting position and in a continuous way. This reality contributes for the increase of a sedentary lifestyle of workers, leading to health-related diseases and consequently decreasing they quality of life (QoL).

The development of substance abuse problems occurs due to a diverse combination of risk factors. Among these risks, studies have reported depression and early-life stress as of importance. These two factors often occur simultaneously, however, there is a lack of understanding of how their combined effect may impact vulnerability to drug abuse in adolescence. The present study used rats with different vulnerability to depression (Wistar and Wistar-Kyoto) to investigate the impact of maternal separation (MS) on emotional state and drug addiction vulnerability during the adolescence period. Mothers and their litters were subjected to MS (180 min/day) from postnatal day 2 to 14. The offspring emotional state was assessed by observing their exploratory behavior. Drug abuse vulnerability was assessed through conditioning to cocaine. MS impacted the emotional state in both strains. Wistar responded with increased exploration, while Wistar-Kyoto increased anxiety-like behaviours. Despite the different coping strategies displayed by the two strains when challenged with the behavioural tests, drug conditioning was equally impacted by MS in both strains. Early-life stress appears to affect drug abuse vulnerability in adolescence independently of a depression background, suggesting emotional state as the main driving risk factor.

The presence of TERT promoter (TERTp) mutations in thyroid cancer have been associated with worse prognosis features, whereas the extent and meaning of the expression and activation of TERT in thyroid tumours is still largely unknown. We analysed frozen samples from a series of benign and malignant thyroid tumours, displaying non-aggressive features and low mutational burden in order to evaluate the presence of TERTp mutations and TERT mRNA expression in these settings. In this series, TERTp mutations were found in 2%, only in malignant cases, in larger cancers, and from older patients. TERT mRNA expression was detected in both benign and malignant tumours, with increased frequencies in the malignant tumours with aggressive histotypes, larger tumours, and from older patients. In benign tumours, TERT mRNA expression was found in 17% of the follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA) with increased levels of expression in smaller tumours and associated with the presence of thyroiditis. TERTp mutations and TERT mRNA expression are correlated with worse prognosis features in malignant thyroid tumours, whereas TERT mRNA expression in the benign tumours is associated with the presence of thyroiditis.

Adolescent development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is accompanied by important changes in glutamatergic, GABAergic and dopaminergic circuitries, susceptible to modulation by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) antagonists. Repeated ketamine was associated with social and memory deficits, but other relevant factors, such as anxiety, were not sufficiently addressed. The present study aimed to examine the behavioral and molecular consequences of repeated exposure to ketamine with a particular focus in anxiety. Methods. We treated male adolescent Wistar rats, starting postnatal day (PND) 35, with ketamine (30 mg/kg, i.p, 7 days). Behavioral evaluation was conducted in the adulthood (PND 60). The elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field tests were used to evaluate anxiety and locomotion, while sociability and novelty recognition were assessed through the novel object recognition (NOR) and the sociability and social novelty tests. At the end of the behavioral evaluation, brains were dissected and the prefrontal cortex used for biochemical evaluation. Results. Analysis of the elevated plus maze (EPM) data revealed a ketamine-induced anxiety-like profile, corroborated by the open field data. Ketaminetreated rats also failed to increase contact time with a conspecific in the social affiliation test and with an unknown rat in the novelty preference test. At the molecular level, frontal expression levels of tyrosine hydroxylase were found decreased. Conclusion. Altogether, these results show that repeated ketamine-exposure in the adolescent may result in long-term anxiety

Introduction: Genetic testing of cardiomyopathies went through major changes in the last few years, from sequential Sanger sequencing of the most likely gene candidates, to multigene panels by NGS, with an ever increasing number of genes analyzed.

Although specific phobia is one of the most prevalent lifetime anxiety disorders, little is known about the particular risk factors related to its development. The underlying goal of this study was to analyse the risk factors associated with worrying about specific phobias (SP) in a representative sample of community dwelling adults. The sample was composed of 8461 participants (mean age 47.68 years, range 18-85, 54.60% female), from the Australian National Mental Health Survey. A total of 188 participants (2.22%) reported worrying about SPs. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that female sex (odds ratio (OR) = 1.98, p < 0.0001) and a comorbid diagnosis of lifetime major depression disorder (OR = 2.80, p < 0.0001) were the factors most strongly associated with worrying about SPs. Having experienced traumatic experiences involving significant others (OR = 1.18, p = 0.02), the number of chronic diseases (OR = 1.21, p < 0.01), and a comorbid diagnosis of substance use (OR = 2.80, p = 0.02) were also associated. Our results are in line with previous studies focusing on other anxiety disorders. We provide further evidence that substance dependence appears to serve as a unique risk factor for the subsequent onset of SP. Further empirical and clinical implications are discussed.

The aims of this study were to identify distinct classes (phenotypes) of adults with allergic respiratory diseases, using an unsupervised method, and to examine their associations with inflammatory biomarkers, and allergic sensitization.

Portable monitoring devices allow fraction exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurements outside clinical settings. However, the reproducibility of the new portable device Vivatmo pro is not yet fully established. In this study, we aimed to assess the reproducibility of this device for FeNO measurements.

We aimed to identify prescription patterns in respiratory patients using an unsupervised (data-driven) method, in a random sample of patients aged >14 years (n=8799), retrieved from the Portuguese Electronic Medical Prescription database. Respiratory patients were defined if >2 packs of maintenance treatment for respiratory diseases were prescribed in 2016. We analysed all the prescriptions (n=39810) for respiratory diseases and exacerbations by medication type. Two-step clustering was based on the presence of ICS, LABA, LTRA, LAMA, LABA, SABA, SAMA and on the speciality of prescriber.

Mobile apps can improve home measurements of pulmonary function via built-in phone sensors, (e.g. microphone). This could promote greater access to health interventions for patients with respiratory diseases, reducing the need of face-to-face visits..

Asthma phenotypes can be refined using methods without a priori assumptions (data-driven). We aimed to describe asthma phenotypes derived with data-driven methods, using variables easily measurable in a clinical setting, and to summarize their consistency.

The aim of this track is to collect some of the most innovative computer based technological developments applied to both the contexts of biomedical training and clinical practice, as well as in other fields related to Health Sciences training, providing an excellent opportunity for the promotion and exchange of innovative teaching experiences in the health field, especially those based on the use of state-of-the-art technology.