Search results for: Correia Carlos

Authors: Nélio Veiga, Paula Ferreira, Tiago Correia, Maria J. Correia, Carlos Pereira, Odete Amaral, Ilídio J. Correia

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Introduction: The application of fissure sealants is considered to be an important primary prevention method used in dental medicine. However, the formation of microleakage gaps between tooth enamel and the fissure sealant applied is one of the most common reasons of dental caries development in teeth with fissure sealants. The association between various dental biomaterials may limit the major disadvantages and limitations of biomaterials functioning in a complementary manner. The present study consists in the incorporation of a cariostatic agent – silver diamine fluoride (SDF) – in a resin-based fissure sealant followed by the study of release kinetics by spectrophotometry analysis of the association between both biomaterials and assessment of the inhibitory effect on the growth of the reference bacterial strain Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) in an in vitro study. Materials and Methods: An experimental in vitro study was designed consisting in the entrapment of SDF (Cariestop^® 12% and 30%) into a commercially available fissure sealant (Fissurit^®), by photopolymerization and photocrosslinking. The same sealant, without SDF was used as a negative control. The effect of the sealants on the growth of S. mutans was determined by the presence of bacterial inhibitory halos in the cultures at the end of the incubation period. In order to confirm the absence of bacteria in the surface of the materials, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) characterization was performed. Also, to analyze the release profile of SDF along time, spectrophotometry technique was applied. Results: The obtained results indicate that the association of SDF to a resin-based fissure sealant may be able to increase the inhibition of S. mutans growth. However, no SDF release was noticed during the in vitro release studies and no statistical significant difference was verified when comparing the inhibitory halo sizes obtained for test and control group.  Conclusions: In this study, the entrapment of SDF in the resin-based fissure sealant did not potentiate the antibacterial effect of the fissure sealant or avoid the immediate development of dental caries. The development of more laboratorial research and, afterwards, long-term clinical data are necessary in order to verify if this association between these biomaterials is effective and can be considered for being used in oral health management. Also, other methodologies for associating cariostatic agents and sealant should be addressed.

Keywords: biomaterial, fissure sealant, primary prevention, silver diamine fluoride

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Authors: Carlos Henrique Rodrigues de Oliveira, Luis Carlos Costa Fonseca, Caio de Castro Torres, Daniel Gusmão Pereira, Luiz Ricardo Souza Ripardo, Magno Castro Moraes, Ana Paula Ferreira Costa, Luiz Carlos Chaves Lima Junior, Aurelianny Almeida da Cunha

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VoIP University is a communication solution based on the IP protocol. This solution was proposed to modernize and save on communication, which required the development of Android, iOS, and Windows applications and a web service server. This solution allows integration with management system databases to create and manage a list of user extensions. VoIP UEMA was the first deployed project of VoIP University. MOS subjective voice quality test was done, and the results indicated good quality. A financial analysis revealed that annual spending on telephone bills decreased by more than 97 %.

Keywords: VoIP eTec, VoIP UEMA, VoIP University, VoIP Valen

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Authors: Raquel P. F. Guiné, Marlene I. C. Tenreiro, Ana C. Correia, Paulo Barracosa, Paula M. R. Correia

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of Serra da Estrela cheese and compare these results with those of the sensory analysis. For the study were taken six samples of Serra da Estrela cheese produced with 6 different ecotypes of thistle in a dairy situated in Penalva do Castelo. The chemical properties evaluated were moisture content, protein, fat, ash, chloride and pH; the physical properties studied were color and texture; and finally a sensory evaluation was undertaken. The results showed moisture varying in the range 40-48%, protein in the range 15-20%, fat between 41-45%, ash between 3.9-5.0% and chlorides varying from 1.2 to 3.0%. The pH varied from 4.8 to 5.4. The textural properties revealed that the crust hardness is relatively low (maximum 7.3 N), although greater than flesh firmness (maximum 1.7 N), and also that these cheeses are in fact soft paste type, with measurable stickiness and intense adhesiveness. The color analysis showed that the crust is relatively light (L* over 50), and with a predominant yellow coloration (b* around 20 or over) although with a slight greenish tone (a* negative). The results of the sensory analysis did not show great variability for most of the attributes measured, although some differences were found in attributes such as crust thickness, crust uniformity, and creamy flesh.

Keywords: chemical composition, color, sensorial analysis, Serra da Estrela cheese, texture

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Authors: Katherine Madero Valencia, Carlos Jaramillo, Elida Dueñas, Carlos Torres, María Del Pilar Delgado

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Asthma, described as a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways, courses accompanied by episodes known as exacerbations, characterized by a worsening of symptoms. Among the triggers, some allergen-irritative and infectious agents are found, including Chlamydophila pneumoniae which seems to play an increasingly important role. In this paper a PCR was used to detect C. pneumoniae in order to estimate the frequency of infections caused by this agent in pediatric patients with asthma exacerbations. C. pneumoniae distribution throughout the study period was also evaluated. 175 nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with asthma exacerbations were analyzed by PCR and sequencing. A global prevalence of C. pneumoniae of 53.71% was obtained. This study highlights a high circulation of C. pneumoniae during the study period, in children of all ages and especially in children under 5 years old. Molecular tests applied permit a rapid detection and improved our knowledge about these infections in children with asthma.

Keywords: Chlamydophila pneumoniae, detection, molecular techniques, pediatric asthma

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Authors: Georgi Vendramin, Aurea Lúcia, Yamamoto, Carlos Itsuo, Camargo Nogueira, Carlos Eduardo, Lenz, Anderson Miguel, Souza Melegari, Samuel N.

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The thermal performance of a solar water heating with 1.00 m2 flat plate collectors in Cascavel-PR, is which presented in this article, paper presents the solution to leverage the marketing of solar heating systems through detailed constituent materials of the solar collector studies, these abundant materials in construction, such as expanded polyethylene, PVC, aluminum and glass tubes, mixing them with new materials to minimize loss of efficiency while decreasing its cost. The system was tested during months and the collector obtained maximum recorded temperature of outlet fluid of 55 °C, while the maximum temperature of the water at the bottom of the hot water tank was 35 °C. The average daily energy collected was 19 6 MJ/d; the energy supplied by the solar plate was 16.2 MJ/d; the loss in the feed pipe was 3.2 MJ/d; the solar fraction was 32.2%, the efficiency of the collector was 45.6% and the efficiency of the system was 37.8%.

Keywords: recycling materials, energy efficiency, solar collector, solar water heating system

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Authors: Alejandro Rodríguez-Molinero, Carlos Pérez-López, Jorge Hernández-Vara, Àngels Bayes-Rusiñol, Juan Carlos Martínez-Castrillo, David A. Pérez-Martínez

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Background: Monitoring motor symptoms in Parkinson's patients is often a complex and time-consuming task for clinicians, as Hauser's diaries are often poorly completed by patients. Recently, new automatic devices (Parkinson's holter: STAT-ON®) have been developed capable of monitoring patients' motor fluctuations. The MoMoPa-EC clinical trial (NCT04176302) investigates which of the two methods produces better clinical results. In this sub-analysis, the concordance between both methods is analyzed. Methods: In the MoMoPa-EC clinical trial, 164 patients with moderate-severe Parkinson's disease and at least two hours a day of Off will be included. At the time of patient recruitment, all of them completed a seven-day motor fluctuation diary at home (Hauser’s diary) while wearing the Parkinson's holter. In this sub-analysis, 71 patients with complete data for the purpose of this comparison were included. The intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated between the patient diary entries and the Parkinson's holter data in terms of time On, Off, and time with dyskinesias. Results: The intra-class correlation coefficient of both methods was 0.57 (95% CI: 0.3-0.74) for daily time in Off (%), 0.48 (95% CI: 0.14-0.68) for daily time in On (%), and 0.37 (95% CI %: -0.04-0.62) for daily time with dyskinesias (%). Conclusions: Both methods have a moderate agreement with each other. We will have to wait for the results of the MoMoPa-EC project to estimate which of them has the greatest clinical benefits. Acknowledgment: This work is supported by AbbVie S.L.U, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [DTS17/00195], and the European Fund for Regional Development, 'A way to make Europe'.

Keywords: Parkinson, sensor, motor fluctuations, dyskinesia

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Authors: Derek Brandon G. Yu, Clyde Vincent O. Pilapil, Christine F. Peña

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College students of Cebu province have been indoors since March 2020, and a challenge encountered is the sudden shift from face to face to online learning and with the lack of empirical data on online learning on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines. Sentiments on face to face and online learning will be collected from University of San Carlos (USC), School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) students regarding Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW), a General Education (GE) course. Natural Language Processing with machine learning algorithms will be used to classify the sentiments of the students. Results of the research study are the themes identified through topic modelling and the overall sentiments of the students in USC SAS

Keywords: natural language processing, online learning, sentiment analysis, topic modelling

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Authors: Dumont Maxime, Correia Carlos, Sauvage Jean-François, Schwartz Noah, Gray Morgan

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Context: The concept of the segmented telescope is unavoidable to build extremely large telescopes (ELT) in the quest for spatial resolution, but it also allows one to fit a large telescope within a reduced volume of space (JWST) or into an even smaller volume (Standard Cubesat). Cubesats have tight constraints on the computational burden available and the small payload volume allowed. At the same time, they undergo thermal gradients leading to large and evolving optical aberrations. The pupil segmentation comes nevertheless with an obvious difficulty: to co-phase the different segments. The CubeSat constraints prevent the use of a dedicated wavefront sensor (WFS), making the focal-plane images acquired by the science detector the most practical alternative. Yet, one of the challenges for the wavefront sensing is the non-linearity between the image intensity and the phase aberrations. Plus, for Earth observation, the object is unknown and unrepeatable. Recently, several studies have suggested Neural Networks (NN) for wavefront sensing; especially convolutional NN, which are well known for being non-linear and image-friendly problem solvers. Aims: We study in this paper the prospect of using NN to measure the phasing aberrations of a segmented pupil from the focal-plane image directly without a dedicated wavefront sensing. Methods: In our application, we take the case of a deployable telescope fitting in a CubeSat for Earth observations which triples the aperture size (compared to the 10cm CubeSat standard) and therefore triples the angular resolution capacity. In order to reach the diffraction-limited regime in the visible wavelength, typically, a wavefront error below lambda/50 is required. The telescope focal-plane detector, used for imaging, will be used as a wavefront-sensor. In this work, we study a point source, i.e. the Point Spread Function [PSF] of the optical system as an input of a VGG-net neural network, an architecture designed for image regression/classification. Results: This approach shows some promising results (about 2nm RMS, which is sub lambda/50 of residual WFE with 40-100nm RMS of input WFE) using a relatively fast computational time less than 30 ms which translates a small computation burder. These results allow one further study for higher aberrations and noise.

Keywords: wavefront sensing, deep learning, deployable telescope, space telescope

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Authors: Aïcha Ben Salem, Faouzi Boufares, Sebastiao Correia

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The subject covered in this paper aims at assisting the user in its quality approach. The goal is to better extract, mix, interpret and reuse data. It deals with the semantic schema recognition of a data source. This enables the extraction of data semantics from all the available information, inculding the data and the metadata. Firstly, it consists of categorizing the data by assigning it to a category and possibly a sub-category, and secondly, of establishing relations between columns and possibly discovering the semantics of the manipulated data source. These links detected between columns offer a better understanding of the source and the alternatives for correcting data. This approach allows automatic detection of a large number of syntactic and semantic anomalies.

Keywords: schema recognition, semantic data profiling, meta-categorisation, semantic dependencies inter columns

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Authors: Viviane da Costa Correia, Sergio Francisco Santos, Holmer Savastano Junior

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The main purpose of this work was verify the influence of the accelerated carbonation in the physical and mechanical properties of the hybrid composites, reinforced with micro and nanofibers and composites with microfibers. The composites were produced by the slurry vacuum dewatering method, followed by pressing. It was produced using two formulations: 8% of eucalyptus pulp + 1% of the nanofibrillated cellulose and 9% of eucalyptus pulp, both were subjected to accelerated carbonation. The results showed that the accelerated carbonation contributed to improve the physical and mechanical properties of the hybrid composites and of the composites reinforced with microfibers (eucalyptus pulp).

Keywords: carbonation, cement composites, nanofibrillated cellulose, eucalyptus pulp

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Authors: Raquel P. F. Guiné, Daniela V. T. A. Costa, Paula M. R. Correia, Moisés Castro, Luis T. Guerra, Cristina A. Costa

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The aim of this work was to characterize a potential target group of people interested in participating into a training program in organic farming in the context of mobile-learning. The information sought addressed in particular, but not exclusively, possible contents, formats and forms of evaluation that will contribute to define the course objectives and curriculum, as well as to ensure that the course meets the needs of the learners and their preferences. The sample was selected among different European countries. The questionnaires were delivered electronically for answering online and in the end 135 consented valid questionnaires were obtained. The results allowed characterizing the target group and identifying their training needs and preferences towards m-learning formats, giving valuable tools to design the training offer.

Keywords: mobile-learning, organic farming, rural development, survey

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Authors: Sónia C. Andrade, Solange F. Oliveira, Raquel P. F. Guiné, Paula M. R. Correia

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Flours of wheat, chestnut, acorn and lupin were evaluated in relation to phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and oxalate content. At the chemical level the results show some variability between samples by type of flour, and the sample of chestnut flour presented the higher value of oxalate (0.00348 mg/100g) when compared to the other samples in the study. Considering the content of phenolic compounds, the sample that stood out was the acorn flour, having a high value of 0.812 g AGE/100 g. All the samples presented intermediate content of antioxidant activity and the sample that showed a slightly higher value was the wheat flour with a value of 0.746 mM TRE/g sample.

Keywords: Wheat, Acorn, Lupin, Chestnut, Flour, Antioxidant properties, Oxalate

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Authors: Rene A. Salmingo

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In pursuing higher educational institution’s transition to sustainable future, this research initiative was conducted. The study aimed to determine the level of sustainability, environmental impact and life cycle phase assessment of the industrial technology research projects at the Institute of Information Technology, Carlos Hilado Memorial State College (CHMSC), Alijis Campus, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. The research method was descriptive utilizing a researcher made questionnaire to assess the ten (10) industrial technology completed research projects. Mean was used to treat the data and instrument for Good and Scates’ validity through revisions and consultations from the environmental experts, technology specialists; and Cronbach Alpha was used to measure reliability. Results indicated that the level of sustainability and life cycle phase assessment was very high while the environmental impact of the industrial research projects was rated low. Moreover, the current research projects and environmental education courses in the college were relevant to support sustainable industrial technology research projects in the future. Hence, this research initiative will contribute to the transformation of CHMSC as a greening higher educational institution and as a center for sustainable development in the region.

Keywords: environmental impact, industrial technology research projects, life cycle phase assessment, sustainability

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Authors: Tannia Vindel, Carlos Mejia, Damaris Araujo, Carlos Velasquez, Darlin Trejo

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The DWDM (Dense Wavelenght Division Multiplexing) is in constant growth around the world by consumer demand to meet their needs. Since its inception in this operation arises the need for a system which enable us to expand the communication of an entire nation to improve the computing trends of their societies according to their customs and geographical location. The Honduran Company of Telecommunications (HONDUTEL), provides the internet services and data transport technology with a PDH and SDH, which represents in the Republic of Honduras C. A., the option of viability for the consumer in terms of purchase value and its ease of acquisition; but does not have the efficiency in terms of technological advance and represents an obstacle that limits the long-term socio-economic development in comparison with other countries in the region and to be able to establish a competition between telecommunications companies that are engaged in this heading. For that reason we propose to establish a new technological trend implemented in Europe and that is applied in our country that allows us to provide a data transfer in broadband as it is DWDM, in this way we will have a stable service and quality that will allow us to compete in this globalized world, and that must be replaced by one that would provide a better service and which must be in the forefront. Once implemented the DWDM is build upon the existing resources, such as the equipment used, and you will be given life to a new stage providing a business image to the Republic of Honduras C,A, as a nation, to ensure the data transport and broadband internet to a meaningful relationship. Same benefits in the first instance to existing customers and to all the institutions were bidden to these public and private need of such services.

Keywords: demultiplexers, light detectors, multiplexers, optical amplifiers, optical fibers, PDH, SDH

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Authors: Laverne Seales

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When most people think of Panama, they immediately think of the Canal; however, the construction and the people who made it possible are often omitted and seldom acknowledged. The reality is that the construction of this waterway was achieved through forced migration and discriminatory practices toward people of African descent, specifically black people from the Caribbean. From the colonial period to the opening and subsequent operation of the Panama Canal by the United States, this paper goes through the rich layers of Panamanian history to examine the life of Afro-Caribbeans and their descendants in Panama. It also considers the role of the United States in Panama; it explores how the United States in Panama forged a racially complex country that made the integration of Afro-Caribbeans and their descendants difficult. After laying a historical foundation, the exploration of Afro-Caribbean people and Panamanians of Afro-Caribbean descent are analyzed through Afro-Panamanian writer Carlos Guillermo ‘Cubena’ Wilson's novels, short stories, and poetry. This study focuses on how Cubena addresses racism, discrimination, inequality, and social justice issues towards Afro-Caribbeans and their descendants who traveled to Panama to construct the Canal. Content analysis methodology can yield several significant contributions, and analyzing Carlos Guillermo Wilson's literature under this framework allows us to consider social commentary and critique of Panamanian society. It identifies the social issues and concerns of Afro-Caribbeans and people of Afro-Caribbean descent, such as inequality, corruption, racism, political oppression, and cultural identity. Analysis methodology allows us to explore how Cubena's literature engages with questions of cultural identity and belonging in Panamanian society. By examining themes related to race, ethnicity, language, and heritage, this research uncovers the complexities of Panamanian cultural identity, allowing us to interrogate power dynamics and social hierarchies in Panamanian society. Analyzing the portrayal of different social groups, institutions, and power structures helps uncover how power is wielded, contested, and resisted; Cubena's fictional world allows us to see how it functions in Panama. Content analysis methodology also provides for critiquing political systems and governance in Panama. By examining the representation and presentation of political figures, institutions, and events in Cubena's literature, we uncover his commentary on corruption, authoritarianism, governance, and the role of the United States in Panama. Content analysis highlights how Wilson's literature amplifies the voices and experiences of marginalized individuals and communities in Panamanian society. By centering the narratives of Afro-Panamanians and other marginalized groups, this researcher uncovers Cubena's commitment to social justice and inclusion in his writing and helps the reader engage with historical narratives and collective memory in Panama. Overall, analyzing Carlos Guillermo ‘Cubena’ Wilson's literature as a platform for social commentary and critique of Panamanian society using content analysis methodology provides valuable insights into the cultural, social, and political dimensions of Afro-Panamanians during and after the construction of the Panama Canal.

Keywords: Afro-Caribbean, Panama Canal, race, Afro-Panamanian, identity, history

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Authors: Bruna Goncalves, Jennifer Henck, Romulo Uliana, Eliana Kamimura, Carlos Oliveira, Carlos Corassin

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Studies have shown evidence of human exposure to aflatoxin M1 due to the consumption of contaminated milk and dairy products (mainly cheeses). This poses a great risk to public health, since milk and milk products are frequently consumed by a portion of the population considered immunosuppressed, children and the elderly. Knowledge of the negative impacts of aflatoxins on health and economics has led to investigations of strategies to prevent their formation in food, as well as to eliminate, inactivate or reduce the bioavailability of these toxins in contaminated products This study evaluated the effect of microbiological methods using lactic acid bacteria on aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) reduction in Minas Frescal cheese (typical Brazilian product, being among the most consumed cheeses in Brazil) spiked with 1 µg/L AFM1. Inactivated lactic acid bacteria (0,5%, v/v de L. rhamnosus e L. lactis) were added during the cheese production process. Nine cheeses were produced, divided into three treatments: negative controls (without AFM1 or lactic acid bacteria), positive controls (AFM1 only), and lactic acid bacteria + AFM1. Samples of cheese were collected on days 2, 10, 20 and 30 after the date of production and submitted to composition analyses and determination of AFM1 by high-performance liquid chromatography. The reductions of AFM1 in cheese by lactic acid bacteria at the end of the trial indicate a potential application of inactivated lactic acid bacteria in reducing the bioavailability of AFM1 in Minas frescal cheese without physical-chemical and microbiological modifications during the 30-day experimental period. The authors would like to thank São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP (grants #2017/20081-6 and #2017/19683-1).

Keywords: aflatoxin, milk, minas frescal cheese, decontamination

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Authors: Raquel P. F. Guiné, Ana R. B. Figueiredo, Paula M. R. Correia, Fernando J. Gonçalves

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The purpose of the present work was to develop an innovative food product with nutritional properties as well as appealing organoleptic qualities. The product, a jam, was prepared with the beans’ cooking water combined with fresh apple or carrot, without the addition of any conservatives. Three different jams were produced: bean and carrot, bean and apple and bean, apple and cinnamon. The developed products underwent a sensorial analysis that revealed that the bean, apple and cinnamon jam was globally better accepted. However, with this study, the consumers determined that the bean and carrot jam had the most attractive color and the bean and apple jam the better consistency. Additionally, it was possible to analyze the jams for their chemical components, namely fat, fiber, protein, sugars and antioxidant activity. The obtained results showed that the bean and carrot jam had the highest lipid content, while the bean, apple and cinnamon jam had the highest fiber content, when compared to the other two jams. Regarding the sugar content, both jams with apple revealed similar sugar values, which were higher than the sugar content of the bean and carrot jam. The antioxidant activity was on average 10 mg TE/g.

Keywords: Bean jam, chemical composition, sensorial analysis, product acceptability

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Authors: Armenio Lopes, Carlos Ferreira

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In the specific context of the Iberian Union between 1580 and 1640, characteristics emerged in Portuguese architecture that stood out from the main architectural production of the period. Recognised and identified aspects that had begun making their appearance decades before (1521) became significantly more marked during the Hapsburg-Spanish occupation. Distinctive even from the imperialist language of Spain, this trend would endure even after the restoration of independence (1706), continuing through to the start of the age of absolutism. Or perhaps not. This trend, recognised as Plain Style (Kubler), associated with a certain scarcity of resources, involved a certain formal and decorative simplification, as well as a particular set of conventions that would subsequently mark the landscape. This expression could also be seen as a means of asserting a certain spirit of independence as the Iberian Union breathed its last. The image of a simple, bare-bones architecture with purer design lines is associated by various authors –most notably Kubler– with the narratives of modernism, to whose principles it is similar, in a context-specific to the period. There is a contrast with some of the exuberance of the baroque or its expression in the Manueline period, in a similar fashion to modernism's responses to nineteenth-century eclecticism. This assertion and practice of simple architecture, drafted from the interpretation of the treaties, and highlighting a certain classical inspiration, was to become a benchmark in the theory of architecture, spanning the Baroque and Mannerism, until achieving contemporary recognition within certain originality and modernity. At a time when the baroque and its scenography became generally very widespread, it is important also to recognise the role played by plain style architecture in the construction of a rather complex and contradictory waterfront landscape, featuring promises of exuberance and more discrete practices.

Keywords: Carlos Mardel, Lisbon's waterfront, plain style, urban image on the waterfront

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Authors: Carlos Gonzalez

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This paper describes the use of the Internet as a feature to enhance the security of our software that is going to be distributed/sold to users potentially all over the world. By placing in a secure server some of the features of the secure software, we increase the security of such software. The communication between the protected software and the secure server is done by a double lock algorithm. This paper also includes an analysis of intruders and describes possible responses to detect threats.

Keywords: internet, secure software, threats, cryptography process

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Authors: Carlos Riobo

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This paper analyzes literature and art in Argentina from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries as these media used the figure of the white female captive to define a developing national identity. This identity excluded the Indians whose lands the whites were taking and who appeared as the aggressors and captors in writing and paintings. The paper identifies the complicit relationship between art and history in crafting national memory. It also identifies a movement toward purity (as defined by separation of entities) and away from mestizaje (racial and cultural mixtures).

Keywords: Argentina, borders, captives, literature, painting

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Authors: Carlos Oliveira

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This paper is a criticism of the traditional model of teaching and presents alternative teaching methods, different from the traditional lecture. These methods are accompanied by reports of experience of their application in a class. It was concluded that in the lecture, the student has a low learning rate and that other methods should be used to make the most engaging learning environment for the student, contributing (or facilitating) his learning process. However, the teacher should not use a single method, but rather a range of different methods to ensure the learning experience does not become repetitive and fatiguing for the student.

Keywords: educational practices, experience report, IT in education, teaching methods

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Authors: Lidia N. Hernández-Piña, Carlos R. Jaimez-González

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Interoperability in distributed systems is an important feature that refers to the communication of two applications written in different programming languages. This paper presents a serializer and a de-serializer of PHP objects to and from XML, which is an independent library written in the PHP programming language. The XML generated by this serializer is independent of the programming language, and can be used by other existing Web Objects in XML (WOX) serializers and de-serializers, which allow interoperability with other object-oriented programming languages.

Keywords: interoperability, PHP object serialization, PHP to XML, web objects in XML, WOX

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Authors: Yenny Paola Morales Cortés, Fabián Rico Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Serrato Bermúdez, Carlos Arturo Martínez Riascos

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Numerous benefits of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) as prebiotics have motivated the study of enzymatic processes for their production. These processes have special complexities due to several factors that make difficult high productivity, such as enzyme type, reaction medium pH, substrate concentrations and presence of inhibitors, among others. In the present work the production of galactooligosaccharides (with different degrees of polymerization: two, three and four) from lactose was studied. The study considers the formulation of a mathematical model that predicts the production of GOS from lactose using the enzyme β-galactosidase. The effect of pH in the reaction was studied. For that, phosphate buffer was used and with this was evaluated three pH values (6.0.6.5 and 7.0). Thus it was observed that at pH 6.0 the enzymatic activity insignificant. On the other hand, at pH 7.0 the enzymatic activity was approximately 27 times greater than at 6.5. The last result differs from previously reported results. Therefore, pH 7.0 was chosen as working pH. Additionally, the enzyme concentration was analyzed, which allowed observing that the effect of the concentration depends on the pH and the concentration was set for the following studies in 0.272 mM. Afterwards, experiments were performed varying the lactose concentration to evaluate its effects on the process and to generate the data for the adjustment of the mathematical model parameters. The mathematical model considers the reactions of lactose hydrolysis and transgalactosylation for the production of disaccharides and trisaccharides, with their inverse reactions. The production of tetrasaccharides was negligible and, because of that, it was not included in the model. The reaction was monitored by HPLC and for the quantitative analysis of the experimental data the Matlab programming language was used, including solvers for differential equations systems integration (ode15s) and nonlinear problems optimization (fminunc). The results confirm that the transgalactosylation and hydrolysis reactions are reversible, additionally inhibition by glucose and galactose is observed on the production of GOS. In relation to the production process of galactooligosaccharides, the results show that it is necessary to have high initial concentrations of lactose considering that favors the transgalactosylation reaction, while low concentrations favor hydrolysis reactions.

Keywords: β-galactosidase, galactooligosaccharides, inhibition, lactose, Matlab, modeling

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Authors: Izabela P. Vatanabe, Rafaela Peron, Patricia Manzine, Marcia R. Cominetti

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Introduction: Considering the increase in life expectancy of world population, there is an emerging concern in health services to allocate better care and care to elderly, through promotion, prevention and treatment of health. It has been observed that frailty syndrome is prevalent in elderly people worldwide and this complex and heterogeneous clinical syndrome consist of the presence of physical frailty associated with cognitive dysfunction, though in absence of dementia. This can be characterized by exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, decreased walking speed, weakness and low level of physical activity, in addition, each of these symptoms may be a predictor of adverse outcomes such as hospitalization, falls, functional decline, institutionalization, and death. Cognitive frailty is a recent concept in literature, which is defined as the presence of physical frailty associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) however in absence of dementia. This new concept has been considered as a subtype of frailty, which along with aging process and its interaction with physical frailty, accelerates functional declines and can result in poor quality of life of the elderly. MCI represents a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in view of high conversion rate for this disease. Comorbidities and physical frailty are frequently found in AD patients and are closely related to heterogeneity and clinical manifestations of the disease. The decreased platelets ADAM10 levels in AD patients, compared to cognitively healthy subjects, matched by sex, age and education. Objective: Based on these previous results, this study aims to evaluate whether ADAM10 platelet levels of could act as a biomarker of cognitive frailty. Methods: The study was approved by Ethics Committee of Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and conducted in the municipality of São Carlos, headquarters of Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). Biological samples of subjects were collected, analyzed and then stored in a biorepository. ADAM10 platelet levels were analyzed by western blotting technique in subjects with MCI and compared to subjects without cognitive impairment, both with and without presence of frailty. Statistical tests of association, regression and diagnostic accuracy were performed. Results: The results have shown that ADAM10/β-actin ratio is decreased in elderly individuals with cognitive frailty compared to non-frail and cognitively healthy controls. Previous studies performed by this research group, already mentioned above, demonstrated that this reduction is still higher in AD patients. Therefore, the ADAM10/β-actin ratio appears to be a potential biomarker for cognitive frailty. The results bring important contributions to an accurate diagnosis of cognitive frailty from the perspective of ADAM10 as a biomarker for this condition, however, more experiments are being conducted, using a high number of subjects, and will help to understand the role of ADAM10 as biomarker of cognitive frailty and contribute to the implementation of tools that work in the diagnosis of cognitive frailty. Such tools can be used in public policies for the diagnosis of cognitive frailty in the elderly, resulting in a more adequate planning for health teams and better quality of life for the elderly.

Keywords: ADAM10, biomarkers, cognitive frailty, elderly

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Authors: Sara Sousa, Veronique Gomes, Nélio Veiga, Maria José Correia

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Objectives: To assess the presence or absence of Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus salivarius in the oral biofilm of children in an elementary school of Viseu, Portugal, and verify the relationship between Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus salivarius and the absence of dental caries. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed with a final sample of 40 children aged 6-11 years old. Oral examination was accomplished with the identification of their oral health status and oral biofilm collection. Analysis of biological samples by molecular techniques of DNA isolation and identification of three Streptococci bacteria by Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was made. Results: We identified Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus gordoni only in the lower interincisal region. These species were also present mainly in the first permanent non-decayed molars. On the contrary, Streptococcus mutans was found mostly in decayed first permanent molars. Conclusion: This preliminary study establishes a possible association between the absence of dental caries and the presence of Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus salivarius. Since these two species are described as alkali producers, it is suggested that their presence somehow confers protection against caries. These results support new dental caries prevention strategies based on oral biofilm modulation by enrichment with alkalinogenic species.

Keywords: dental caries, oral biofilm, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus salivarius

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Authors: Carlos Oliveira, Ulrick Pimentel

Abstract:

Digital games have conquered a growing space in the lives of children, adolescents and adults. In this perspective, the use of this resource has shown to be an important strategy that facilitates the learning process. This research is a literature review on the use of serious games in teaching, which shows the characteristics of these games, the benefits and possible harms that this resource can produce, in addition to the possible methods of evaluating the effectiveness of this resource in teaching. The results point out that Serious Games have significant potential as a tool for instruction. However, their effectiveness in terms of learning outcomes is still poorly studied, mainly due to the complexity involved in evaluating intangible measures.

Keywords: serious games, learning, application, literature review

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Authors: Carlos Gonzalez

Abstract:

When communicating using private and secure keys, there is always the doubt as to the identity of the message creator. We introduce an algorithm that uses the personal typing rhythm (keystroke dynamics) of the message originator to increase the trust of the authenticity of the message originator by the message recipient. The methodology proposes the use of a Rhythm Certificate Authority (RCA) to validate rhythm information. An illustrative example of the communication between Bob and Alice and the RCA is included. An algorithm of how to communicate with the RCA is presented. This RCA can be an independent authority or an enhanced Certificate Authority like the one used in public key infrastructure (PKI).

Keywords: authentication, digital signature, keystroke dynamics, personal rhythm, public-key encryption

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Authors: Marina Vicario, Amadeo Argüelles, Pilar Gómez, Carlos Hernández

Abstract:

In this paper, the Computer Research Network of the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico proposes a paradigmatic model for the inference of cognitive patterns in digital learning systems. This model leads to metadata architecture useful for analysis and prediction in online learning systems; especially on MOOc's architectures. The model is in the design phase and expects to be tested through an institutional of courses project which is going to develop for the MOOc.

Keywords: cognitive footprints, learning analytics, predictive learning, digital learning, educational computing, educational informatics

Procedia PDF Downloads 476

Authors: Paula M. R. Correia, Marta Gonzaga, Luis M. Batista, Luísa Beirão-Costa, Raquel F. P. Guiné

Abstract:

The purpose of the present work was to develop an innovative food product with good textural and sensorial characteristics. The product, a new type of bread, was prepared with wheat (90%) and lupin (10%) flours, without the addition of any conservatives. Several experiences were also done to find the most appropriate proportion of lupin flour. The optimized product was characterized considering the rheological, physical-chemical and sensorial properties. The water absorption of wheat flour with 10% of lupin was higher than that of the normal wheat flours, and Wheat Ceres flour presented the lower value, with lower dough development time and high stability time. The breads presented low moisture but a considerable water activity. The density of bread decreased with the introduction of lupin flour. The breads were quite white, and during storage the colour parameters decreased. The lupin flour clearly increased the number of alveolus, but the total area increased significantly just for the Wheat Cerealis bread. The addition of lupin flour increased the hardness and chewiness of breads, but the elasticity did not vary significantly. Lupin bread was sensorially similar to wheat bread produced with WCerealis flour, and the main differences are the crust rugosity, colour and alveolus characteristics.

Keywords: Lupin flour, physical-chemical properties, sensorial analysis, wheat flour

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Authors: Juliana da Silva Cardoso, Cláudia Correia, Rita Gomes, Carolina Fraga, Inês Cascais, Sara Monteiro, Beatriz Teixeira, Sandra Ribeiro, Carolina Andrade, Cláudia Oliveira, Diana Gonzaga, Catarina Prior, Inês Vaz Matos

Abstract:

The average daily screen time (ST) has been increasing in children, even at young ages. This seems to be associated with a higher incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, and as the time of exposure increases, the greater is the functional impact. This study aims to compare the daily ST of toddlers and preschoolers previously and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was applied by telephone to parents/caregivers of children between 1 and 5 years old, followed up at 4 primary care units belonging to the Group of Primary Health Care Centers of Western Porto, Portugal. 520 children were included: 52.9% male, mean age 39.4 ± 13.9 months. The mean age of first exposure to screens was 13.9 ± 8.0 months, and most of the children were exposed to more than one screen daily. Considering the WHO recommendations, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 385 (74.0%) and 408 (78.5%) children had excessive ST during the week and the weekend, respectively; during the lockdown, these values increased to 495 (95.2%) and 482 (92.7%). Maternal education and both the child's median age and the median age of first exposure to screens had a statistically significant association with excessive ST, with OR 0.2 (p = 0.03, CI 95% 0.07-0.86), OR 1.1 (p = 0.01, 95% CI 1.05-1.14) and OR 0.9 (p = 0.05, 95% CI 0. 87-0.98), respectively. Most children in this sample had a higher than recommended ST, which increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results are worrisome and point to the need for urgent intervention.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, preschoolers, screen time, toddlers

Procedia PDF Downloads 216