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Magalhães Pinto</title> <meta name="description" content="Search results for: Milene Magalhães Pinto"> <meta name="keywords" content="Milene Magalhães Pinto"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" rel="shortcut icon"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/bootstrap-4.2.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/fontawesome/css/all.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/css/site.css?v=150220211555" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <header> <div class="container"> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light"> <a class="navbar-brand" href="https://waset.org"> <img src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/images/wasetc.png" alt="Open Science Research Excellence" title="Open Science Research Excellence" /> </a> <button class="d-block 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action="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search"> <div id="custom-search-input"> <div class="input-group"> <i class="fas fa-search"></i> <input type="text" class="search-query" name="q" placeholder="Author, Title, Abstract, Keywords" value="Milene Magalhães Pinto"> <input type="submit" class="btn_search" value="Search"> </div> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="row mt-3"> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Commenced</strong> in January 2007</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Frequency:</strong> Monthly</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Edition:</strong> International</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Paper Count:</strong> 91</div> </div> </div> </div> <h1 class="mt-3 mb-3 text-center" style="font-size:1.6rem;">Search results for: Milene Magalhães Pinto</h1> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">31</span> Understanding English Language in Career Development of Academics in Non-English Speaking HEIs: A Systematic Literature Review</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ricardo%20Pinto%20Mario%20Covele">Ricardo Pinto Mario Covele</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Patricio%20V.%20Langa"> Patricio V. Langa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Patrick%20Swanzy"> Patrick Swanzy</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The English language has been recognized as a universal medium of instruction in academia, especially in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) hence exerting enormous influence within the context of research and publication. By extension, the English Language has been embraced by scholars from non-English speaking countries. The purpose of this review was to synthesize the discussions using four databases. Discussion in the English language in the career development of academics, particularly in non-English speaking universities, is largely less visible. This paper seeks to fill this gap and to improve the visibility of the English language in the career development of academics focusing on non-English language speaking universities by undertaking a systematic literature review. More specifically, the paper addresses the language policy, English language learning model as a second language, sociolinguistic field and career development, methods, as well as its main findings. This review analyzed 75 relevant resources sourced from Western Cape’s Library, Scopus, Google scholar, and web of science databases from November 2020 to July 2021 using the PQRS framework as an analytical lens. The paper’s findings demonstrate that, while higher education continues to be under-challenges of English language usage, literature targeting non-English speaking universities remains less discussed than it is often described. The findings also demonstrate the dominance of English language policy, both for knowledge production and dissemination of literature challenging emerging scholars from non-English speaking HEIs. Hence, the paper argues for the need to reconsider the context of non-English language speakers in the English language in the career development of academics’ research, both as empirical fields and as emerging knowledge producers. More importantly, the study reveals two bodies of literature: (1) the instrumentalist approach to English Language learning and (2) Intercultural approach to the English Language for career opportunities, classified as the appropriate to explain the English language learning process and how is it perceived towards scholars’ academic careers in HEIs. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=English%20language" title="English language">English language</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=public%20and%20private%20universities" title=" public and private universities"> public and private universities</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=language%20policy" title=" language policy"> language policy</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=career%20development" title=" career development"> career development</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=non-English%20speaking%20countries" title=" non-English speaking countries"> non-English speaking countries</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/143434/understanding-english-language-in-career-development-of-academics-in-non-english-speaking-heis-a-systematic-literature-review" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/143434.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">154</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">30</span> Analyzing the Impact of Bariatric Surgery in Obesity Associated Chronic Kidney Disease: A 2-Year Observational Study</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Daniela%20Magalhaes">Daniela Magalhaes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jorge%20Pedro"> Jorge Pedro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Pedro%20Souteiro"> Pedro Souteiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Joao%20S.%20Neves"> Joao S. Neves</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sofia%20Castro-Oliveira"> Sofia Castro-Oliveira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Vanessa%20Guerreiro"> Vanessa Guerreiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rita%20Bettencourt-%0D%0ASilva"> Rita Bettencourt- Silva</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Maria%20M.%20Costa"> Maria M. Costa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ana%20Varela"> Ana Varela</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Joana%20Queiros"> Joana Queiros</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Paula%20Freitas"> Paula Freitas</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Davide%20Carvalho"> Davide Carvalho</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Introduction: Obesity is an independent risk factor for renal dysfunction. Our aims were: (1) evaluate the impact of bariatric surgery (BS) on renal function; (2) clarify the factors determining the postoperative evolution of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR); (3) access the occurrence of oxalate-mediated renal complications. Methods: We investigated a cohort of 1448 obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Those with basal GFR (GFR0) < 30mL/min or without information about the GFR 2-year post-surgery (GFR2) were excluded. Results: We included 725 patients, of whom 647 (89.2%) women, with 41 (IQR 34-51) years, a median weight of 112.4 (IQR 103.0-125.0) kg and a median BMI of 43.4 (IQR 40.6-46.9) kg/m2. Of these, 459 (63.3%) performed gastric bypass (RYGB), 144 (19.9%) placed an adjustable gastric band (AGB) and 122 (16.8%) underwent vertical gastrectomy (VG). At 2-year post-surgery, excess weight loss (EWL) was 60.1 (IQR 43.7-72.4) %. There was a significant improve of metabolic and inflammatory status, as well as a significant decrease in the proportion of patients with diabetes, arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia (p < 0.0001). At baseline, 38 (5.2%) of subjects had hyperfiltration with a GFR0 ≥ 125mL/min/1.73m2, 492 (67.9%) had a GFR0 90-124 mL/min/1.73m2, 178 (24.6%) had a GFR0 60-89 mL/min/1.73m2, and 17 (2.3%) had a GFR0 < 60 mL/min/1.73m2. GFR decreased in 63.2% of patients with hyperfiltration (ΔGFR=-2.5±7.6), and increased in 96.6% (ΔGFR=22.2±12.0) and 82.4% (ΔGFR=24.3±30.0) of the subjects with GFR0 60-89 and < 60 mL/min/1.73m2, respectively ( p < 0.0001). This trend was maintained when adjustment was made for the type of surgery performed. Of 321 patients, 10 (3.3%) had a urinary albumin excretion (UAE) > 300 mg/dL (A3), 44 (14.6%) had a UAE 30-300 mg/dL (A2) and 247 (82.1%) has a UAE < 30 mg/dL (A1). Albuminuria decreased after surgery and at 2-year follow-up only 1 (0.3%) patient had A3, 17 (5.6%) had A2 and 283 (94%) had A1 (p < 0,0001). In multivariate analysis, the variables independently associated with ΔGFR were BMI (positively) and fasting plasma glucose (negatively). During the 2-year follow-up, only 57 of the 725 patients had transient urinary excretion of calcium oxalate crystals. None has records of oxalate-mediated renal complications at our center. Conclusions: The evolution of GFR after BS seems to depend on the initial renal function, as it decreases in subjects with hyperfiltration, but tends to increase in those with renal dysfunction. Our results suggest that BS is associated with improvement of renal outcomes, without significant increase of renal complications. So, apart the clear benefits in metabolic and inflammatory status, maybe obese adults with nondialysis-dependent CKD should be referred for bariatric surgery evaluation. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=albuminuria" title="albuminuria">albuminuria</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=bariatric%20surgery" title=" bariatric surgery"> bariatric surgery</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=glomerular%20filtration%20rate" title=" glomerular filtration rate"> glomerular filtration rate</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=renal%20function" title=" renal function"> renal function</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/67680/analyzing-the-impact-of-bariatric-surgery-in-obesity-associated-chronic-kidney-disease-a-2-year-observational-study" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/67680.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">360</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">29</span> Caspase-11 and AIM2 Inflammasome are Involved in Smoking-Induced COPD and Lung Adenocarcinoma</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chiara%20Colarusso">Chiara Colarusso</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Michela%20Terlizzi"> Michela Terlizzi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Aldo%20Pinto"> Aldo Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rosalinda%20Sorrentino"> Rosalinda Sorrentino</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Cigarette smoking is the main cause and the most common risk factor for both COPD and lung cancer. In our previous studies, we proved that caspase-11 in mice and its human analogue, caspase-4, are involved in lung carcinogenesis and that AIM2 inflammasome might play a pro-cancerous role in lung cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate potential crosstalk between COPD and lung cancer, focusing on AIM2 and caspase-11-dependent inflammasome signaling pathway. To mimic COPD, we took advantage of an experimental first-hand smoking mouse model and, to confirm what was observed in mice, we used human samples of lung adenocarcinoma patients stratified according to the smoking and COPD status. We demonstrated that smoke exposure led to emphysema-like features, bronchial tone impairment, and release of IL-1-like cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-33, IL-18) in a caspase-1 independent manner in C57Bl/6N. Rather, a dysfunctional caspase-11 in smoke-exposed 129Sv mice was associated to lower bronchial inflammation, collagen deposition, and IL-1-like inflammation. In addition, for the first time, we found that AIM2 inflammasome is involved in lung inflammation in smoking and COPD, in that its expression was higher in smoke-exposed C57Bl/6N compared to 129Sv smoking mice, who instead did not show any alteration of AIM2 in both macrophages and dendritic cells. Moreover, we found that AIM2 expression in the cancerous tissue, albeit higher than non-cancerous tissue, was not statistically different according to the COPD and smoking status. Instead, the higher expression of AIM2 in non-cancerous tissue of smoker COPD patients than smokers who did not have COPD was correlated to a higher hazard ratio of poor survival rate than patients who presented lower levels of AIM2. In conclusion, our data highlight that caspase-11 in mice is associated to smoke-induced lung latent inflammation which could drive the establishment of lung cancer, and that AIM2 inflammasome plays a role at the crosstalk between smoking/COPD and lung adenocarcinoma in that its higher presence is correlated to lower survival rate of smoker COPD adenocarcinoma. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=COPD" title="COPD">COPD</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=inflammasome" title=" inflammasome"> inflammasome</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lung%20cancer" title=" lung cancer"> lung cancer</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lung%20inflammation" title=" lung inflammation"> lung inflammation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=smoke" title=" smoke"> smoke</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/143446/caspase-11-and-aim2-inflammasome-are-involved-in-smoking-induced-copd-and-lung-adenocarcinoma" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/143446.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">156</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">28</span> Human Interaction Skills and Employability in Courses with Internships: Report of a Decade of Success in Information Technology</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Filomena%20Lopes">Filomena Lopes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Miguel%20%20Magalhaes"> Miguel Magalhaes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Carla%20Santos%20Pereira"> Carla Santos Pereira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Natercia%20Durao"> Natercia Durao</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Cristina%20Costa-Lobo"> Cristina Costa-Lobo</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The option to implement curricular internships with undergraduate students is a pedagogical option with some good results perceived by academic staff, employers, and among graduates in general and IT (Information Technology) in particular. Knowing that this type of exercise has never been so relevant, as one tries to give meaning to the future in a landscape of rapid and deep changes. We have as an example the potential disruptive impact on the jobs of advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and 3-D printing, which is a focus of fierce debate. It is in this context that more and more students and employers engage in the pursuit of career-promoting responses and business development, making their investment decisions of training and hiring. Three decades of experience and research in computer science degree and in information systems technologies degree at the Portucalense University, Portuguese private university, has provided strong evidence of its advantages. The Human Interaction Skills development as well as the attractiveness of such experiences for students are topics assumed as core in the Ccnception and management of the activities implemented in these study cycles. The objective of this paper is to gather evidence of the Human Interaction Skills explained and valued within the curriculum internship experiences of IT students employability. Data collection was based on the application of questionnaire to intern counselors and to students who have completed internships in these undergraduate courses in the last decade. The trainee supervisor, responsible for monitoring the performance of IT students in the evolution of traineeship activities, evaluates the following Human Interaction Skills: Motivation and interest in the activities developed, interpersonal relationship, cooperation in company activities, assiduity, ease of knowledge apprehension, Compliance with norms, insertion in the work environment, productivity, initiative, ability to take responsibility, creativity in proposing solutions, and self-confidence. The results show that these undergraduate courses promote the development of Human Interaction Skills and that these students, once they finish their degree, are able to initiate remunerated work functions, mainly by invitation of the institutions in which they perform curricular internships. Findings obtained from the present study contribute to widen the analysis of its effectiveness in terms of future research and actions in regard to the transition from Higher Education pathways to the Labour Market. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=human%20interaction%20skills" title="human interaction skills">human interaction skills</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=employability" title=" employability"> employability</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=internships" title=" internships"> internships</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=information%20technology" title=" information technology"> information technology</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=higher%20education" title=" higher education"> higher education</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/67862/human-interaction-skills-and-employability-in-courses-with-internships-report-of-a-decade-of-success-in-information-technology" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/67862.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">289</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">27</span> Rice Mycotoxins Fate During In vitro Digestion and Intestinal Absorption: the Effect of Individual and Combination Exposures</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Carolina%20S.%20Monteiro">Carolina S. Monteiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Eug%C3%A9nia%20Pinto"> Eugénia Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Miguel%20A.%20Faria"> Miguel A. Faria</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sara%20C.%20Cunha"> Sara C. Cunha</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> About half of the world's population eats rice daily, making it the primary food source for billions of people. Besides its nutrition potential, rice can be a significant route of exposure to many contaminants. Mycotoxins are an example of such contaminants that can be present in rice. Among them, ochratoxin (OTA), citrinin (CIT), and zearalenone (ZEN) are frequently reported in rice. During digestion, only a fraction of mycotoxins from food can be absorbed (bioaccessible fraction), influencing their ability to cause toxic effects. Insufficient knowledge of the bioavailability of mycotoxins, alone and in combination, may hinder an accurate risk assessment of contaminants ingested by humans. In this context, two different rice (Oryza sativa) varieties, Carolino white and Carolino brown, both with and without turmeric, were boiled and individually spiked with OTA, CIT, and ZEN plus with its combination. Subsequently, samples were submitted to the INFOGEST harmonized in vitro digestion protocol to evaluate the bioaccessibility of mycotoxins. Afterward, the in vitro intestinal transport of the mycotoxins, both alone and in combination, was evaluated in digests of Carolino white rice with and without turmeric. Assays were performed with a monolayers of of Caco-2 and HT-29 cells. Bioaccessibility of OTA and ZEN, alone and in combination, were similar in Carolino white and brown rice with or without turmeric. For CIT, when Carolino white rice was used, the bioaccessibility was higher alone than in combination (62.00% vs. 25.00%, without turmeric; 87.56% vs. 53.87%, with turmeric); however, with Carolino brown rice was the opposite (66.38% vs. 75.20%, without turmeric; 43.89% vs. 59.44%, with turmeric). All the mycotoxins, isolated, reached the higher bioaccessibility in the Carolino white rice with turmeric (CIT: 87.56%; OTA: 59.24%; ZEN: 58.05%). When mycotoxins are co-present, the higher bioaccessibility of each one varies with the type of rice. In general, when turmeric is present, bioaccessibility increases, except for CIT, using Carolino brown rice. Concerning the intestinal absorption in vitro, after 3 hours of transport, all mycotoxins were detected in the basolateral compartment being thus transported through the cells monolayer. ZEN presented the highest fraction absorbed isolated and combined, followed by CIT and OTA. These findings highlight that the presence of other components in the complex dietary matrix, like turmeric, and the co-presence of mycotoxins can affect its final bioavailability with obvious implications for health risk. This work provides new insights to qualitatively and quantitatively describe mycotoxin in rice fate during human digestion and intestinal absorption and further contribute to better risk assessment. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=bioaccessibility" title="bioaccessibility">bioaccessibility</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=digestion" title=" digestion"> digestion</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=intestinal%20absorption" title=" intestinal absorption"> intestinal absorption</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mycotoxins" title=" mycotoxins"> mycotoxins</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/179300/rice-mycotoxins-fate-during-in-vitro-digestion-and-intestinal-absorption-the-effect-of-individual-and-combination-exposures" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/179300.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">65</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">26</span> How Unpleasant Emotions, Morals and Normative Beliefs of Severity Relate to Cyberbullying Intentions</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Paula%20C.%20Ferreira">Paula C. Ferreira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ana%20Margarida%20Veiga%20Sim%C3%A3o"> Ana Margarida Veiga Simão</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=N%C3%A1dia%20Pereira"> Nádia Pereira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Aristides%20Ferreira"> Aristides Ferreira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Alexandra%20Marques%20Pinto"> Alexandra Marques Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Alexandra%20Barros"> Alexandra Barros</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Vitor%20Martinho"> Vitor Martinho</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Cyberbullying is a phenomenon of worldwide concern regarding children and adolescents’ mental health and risk behavior. Bystanders of this phenomenon can help diminish the incidence of this phenomenon if they engage in pro-social behavior. However, different social-cognitive and affective bystander reactions may surface because of the lack of contextual information and emotional cues in cyberbullying situations. Hence, this study investigated how cyberbullying bystanders’ unpleasant emotions could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions to cyberbully or defend the victim. It also proposed to investigate how their normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions. Three groups of adolescents participated in this study, namely a first of group 402 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.12; SD = 2.19; 55.7% girls) to compute explorative factorial analyses of the instruments used; a second group of 676 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 14.10; SD = 2.74; 55.5% were boys) to run confirmatory factor analyses; and a third group (N = 397; 5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.88 years; SD = 1.45; 55.5% girls) to perform the main analyses to test the research hypotheses. Self-report measures were used, such as the Personal moral beliefs about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Unpleasant emotions about cyberbullying incidents questionnaires, and the Bystanders’ behavioral intentions in cyberbullying situations questionnaires. Path analysis results revealed that unpleasant emotions were mediators of the relationship between adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ personal moral beliefs and their intentions to help the victims in cyberbullying situations. Moreover, adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ normative beliefs of gravity were mediators of the relationship between their personal moral beliefs and their intentions to cyberbully others. These findings provide insights for the development of prevention and intervention programs that promote social and emotional learning strategies as a means to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cyberbullying" title="cyberbullying">cyberbullying</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=normative%20beliefs%20of%20perceived%20severity" title=" normative beliefs of perceived severity"> normative beliefs of perceived severity</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=personal%20moral%20beliefs" title=" personal moral beliefs"> personal moral beliefs</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=unpleasant%20emotions" title=" unpleasant emotions"> unpleasant emotions</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/142308/how-unpleasant-emotions-morals-and-normative-beliefs-of-severity-relate-to-cyberbullying-intentions" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/142308.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">217</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">25</span> Effect of Different Sterilization Processes on Drug Loaded Silicone-Hydrogel</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Raquel%20Galante">Raquel Galante</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Marina%20Braga"> Marina Braga</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Daniela%20Ghisleni"> Daniela Ghisleni</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Terezinha%20J.%20A.%20Pinto"> Terezinha J. A. Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rog%C3%A9rio%20Cola%C3%A7o"> Rogério Colaço</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ana%20Paula%20Serro"> Ana Paula Serro</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The sensitive nature of soft biomaterials, such as hydrogels, renders their sterilization a particularly challenging task for the biomedical industry. Widely used contact lenses are now studied as promising platforms for topical corneal drug delivery. However, to the best of the authors knowledge, the influence of sterilization methods on these systems has yet to be evaluated. The main goal of this study was to understand how different pairs drug-hydrogel would interact under an ozone-based sterilization method in comparison with two conventional processes (steam heat and gamma irradiation). For that, Si-Hy containing hydroxylethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and [tris(trimethylsiloxy)silyl]propyl methacrylate (TRIS) was produced and soaked in different drug solutions, commonly used for the treatment of ocular diseases (levofloxacin, chlorhexidine, diclofenac and timolol maleate). The drug release profiles and main material properties were evaluated before and after the sterilization. Namely, swelling capacity was determined by water uptake studies, transparency was accessed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, surface topography/morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical properties by performing tensile tests. The drug released was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The effectiveness of the sterilization procedures was assured by performing sterility tests. Ozone gas method led to a significant reduction of drug released and to the formation of degradation products specially for diclofenac and levofloxacin. Gamma irradiation led to darkening of the loaded Si-Hys and to the complete degradation of levofloxacin. Steam heat led to smoother surfaces and to a decrease of the amount of drug released, however, with no formation of degradation products. This difference in the total drug released could be the related to drug/polymer interactions promoted by the sterilization conditions in presence of the drug. Our findings offer important insights that, in turn, could be a useful contribution to the safe development of actual products. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=drug%20delivery" title="drug delivery">drug delivery</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=silicone%20hydrogels" title=" silicone hydrogels"> silicone hydrogels</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sterilization" title=" sterilization"> sterilization</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=gamma%20irradiation" title=" gamma irradiation"> gamma irradiation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=steam%20heat" title=" steam heat"> steam heat</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=ozone%20gas" title=" ozone gas"> ozone gas</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/63468/effect-of-different-sterilization-processes-on-drug-loaded-silicone-hydrogel" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/63468.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">312</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">24</span> Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance Complementarity in Multinational Enterprises of the EU and India: A Socio-Political Approach</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Moses%20Pinto">Moses Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ana%20Paula%20Monte"> Ana Paula Monte</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The present research analyses the interactions between various categories of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that mediate the relationship between CSR and financial performance in Multinational Enterprises (MNE) in light of the present socio-political factors prevalent in the countries under observation. In the research it has been hypothesized that the absence of consensus in the empirical literature on the CSR–financial performance relationship may be explained by the existence of synergies (Complementarities) between the different CSR components. Upon investigation about whether such relationships exist, a final unbalanced panel sample of 1000 observations taken from 100 Multinational Enterprises per year functioning in the Schengen countries and one south east Asian country namely: India, over the span of 10 years i.e. from the year 2008 to 2018 has been analyzed. The empirical analysis used in the research methodology employs dynamic Panel Data in time series specifically, the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) which had been used to detect the varying degrees of relationships between the CSR and financial performance parameters in the background of the socio-political factors prevailing in the countries at the time and also taking into account the bilateral treaty obligations between the countries under observation. The econometric model has employed the financial ratio namely the Return on Assets (ROA) as an indicator of financial performance in order to gauge the internal performance and valuation of a firm as opposed to the Tobin’s Q that provides for the external evaluation of a firm’s financial performance which may not always be accurate. The various CSR dimensions have demonstrated significant correlations to the ‘ROA’ which include some negatively associated correlations and one positively associated correlation that is highly significant throughout the analysis of the observations, namely the correlation between the ‘ROA’ and the CSR dimension: ‘Environment’. The results provide a deeper insight in the synergistic CSR activities that managers could adapt into their Firm’s CSR strategy in order to enhance the ‘ROA’ and also to understand which interactions between the CSR dimensions can be adapted together due to their positively correlated association with each other and the ROA. The future lines of research would be inclined to investigate the effects of socio-political factors on the ROA of the MNEs through better designed econometric models. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=CSR" title="CSR">CSR</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=financial%20performance" title=" financial performance"> financial performance</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=complementarity" title=" complementarity"> complementarity</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sociopolitical%20factors" title=" sociopolitical factors"> sociopolitical factors</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/103833/corporate-social-responsibility-and-financial-performance-complementarity-in-multinational-enterprises-of-the-eu-and-india-a-socio-political-approach" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/103833.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">125</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">23</span> Nitrification and Denitrification Kinetic Parameters of a Mature Sanitary Landfill Leachate</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=T%C3%A2nia%20F.%20C.%20V.%20Silva">Tânia F. C. V. Silva</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Elo%C3%ADsa%20S.%20S.%20Vieira"> Eloísa S. S. Vieira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jo%C3%A3o%20Pinto%20da%20Costa"> João Pinto da Costa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rui%20A.%20R.%20Boaventura"> Rui A. R. Boaventura</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Vitor%20J.%20P.%20Vilar"> Vitor J. P. Vilar</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Sanitary landfill leachates are characterized as a complex mixture of diverse organic and inorganic contaminants, which are usually removed by combining different treatment processes. Due to its simplicity, reliability, high cost-effectiveness and high nitrogen content (mostly under the ammonium form) inherent in this type of effluent, the activated sludge biological process is almost always applied in leachate treatment plants (LTPs). The purpose of this work is to assess the effect of the main nitrification and denitrification variables on the nitrogen's biological removal, from mature leachates. The leachate samples were collected after an aerated lagoon, at a LTP nearby Porto, presenting a high amount of dissolved organic carbon (1.0-1.3 g DOC/L) and ammonium nitrogen (1.1-1.7 g NH4+-N/L). The experiments were carried out in a 1-L lab-scale batch reactor, equipped with a pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) control system, in order to determine the reaction kinetic constants at unchanging conditions. The nitrification reaction rate was evaluated while varying the (i) operating temperature (15, 20, 25 and 30ºC), (ii) DO concentration interval (0.5-1.0, 1.0-2.0 and 2.0-4.0 mg/L) and (iii) solution pH (not controlled, 7.5-8.5 and 6.5-7.5). At the beginning of most assays, it was verified that the ammonium stripping occurred simultaneously to the nitrification, reaching up to 37% removal of total dissolved nitrogen. The denitrification kinetic constants and the methanol consumptions were calculated for different values of (i) volatile suspended solids (VSS) content (25, 50 and 100 mL of centrifuged sludge in 1 L solution), (ii) pH interval (6.5-7.0, 7.5-8.0 and 8.5-9.0) and (iii) temperature (15, 20, 25 and 30ºC), using effluent previously nitrified. The maximum nitrification rate obtained was 38±2 mg NH4+-N/h/g VSS (25ºC, 0.5-1.0 mg O2/L, pH not controlled), consuming 4.4±0.3 mg CaCO3/mg NH4+-N. The highest denitrification rate achieved was 19±1 mg (NO2--N+NO3--N)/h/g VSS (30ºC, 50 mL of sludge and pH between 7.5 and 8.0), with a C/N consumption ratio of 1.1±0.1 mg CH3OH/mg (NO2--N+NO3--N) and an overall alkalinity production of 3.7±0.3 mg CaCO3/mg (NO2--N+NO3--N). The denitrification process showed to be sensitive to all studied parameters, while the nitrification reaction did not suffered significant change when DO content was changed. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mature%20sanitary%20landfill%20leachate" title="mature sanitary landfill leachate">mature sanitary landfill leachate</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=nitrogen%20removal" title=" nitrogen removal"> nitrogen removal</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=nitrification%20and%20denitrification%20parameters" title=" nitrification and denitrification parameters"> nitrification and denitrification parameters</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lab-scale%20activated%20sludge%20biological%20reactor" title=" lab-scale activated sludge biological reactor"> lab-scale activated sludge biological reactor</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/22478/nitrification-and-denitrification-kinetic-parameters-of-a-mature-sanitary-landfill-leachate" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/22478.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">276</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">22</span> Production, Characterization and In vitro Evaluation of [223Ra]RaCl2 Nanomicelles for Targeted Alpha Therapy of Osteosarcoma</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yang%20Yang">Yang Yang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Luciana%20Magalh%C3%A3es%20Rebelo%20Alencar"> Luciana Magalhães Rebelo Alencar</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Martha%20Sahyl%C3%AD%20Ortega%20Pijeira"> Martha Sahylí Ortega Pijeira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Beatriz%20da%20Silva%20Batista"> Beatriz da Silva Batista</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Alefe%20Roger%20Silva%20Fran%C3%A7a"> Alefe Roger Silva França</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Erick%20Rafael%20Dias%20Rates"> Erick Rafael Dias Rates</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ruana%20Cardoso%20Lima"> Ruana Cardoso Lima</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sara%20Gemini-Piperni"> Sara Gemini-Piperni</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ralph%20Santos-Oliveira"> Ralph Santos-Oliveira</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Radium-²²³ dichloride ([²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂) is an alpha particle-emitting radiopharmaceutical currently approved for the treatment of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases, and no known visceral metastatic disease. [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ is bone-seeking calcium mimetic that bonds into the newly formed bone stroma, especially osteoblastic or sclerotic metastases, killing the tumor cells by inducing DNA breaks in a potent and localized manner. Nonetheless, the successful therapy of osteosarcoma as primary bone tumors is still a challenge. Nanomicelles are colloidal nanosystems widely used in drug development to improve blood circulation time, bioavailability, and specificity of therapeutic agents, among other applications. In addition, the enhanced permeability and retention effect of the nanosystems, and the renal excretion of the nanomicelles reported in most cases so far, are very attractive to achieve selective and increased accumulation in tumor site as well as to increase the safety of [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ in the clinical routine. In the present work, [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles were produced, characterized, in vitro evaluated, and compared with pure [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl2 solution using SAOS2 osteosarcoma cells. The [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles were prepared using the amphiphilic copolymer Pluronic F127. The dynamic light scattering analysis of freshly produced [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles demonstrated a mean size of 129.4 nm with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.303. After one week stored in the refrigerator, the mean size of the [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles increased to 169.4 with a PDI of 0.381. Atomic force microscopy analysis of [223Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles exhibited spherical structures whose heights reach 1 µm, suggesting the filling of 127-Pluronic nanomicelles with [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂. The viability assay with [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles displayed a dose-dependent response as it was observed using pure [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl2. However, at the same dose, [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂ nanomicelles were 20% higher efficient in killing SAOS2 cells when compared with pure [²²³Rₐ]RₐCl₂. These findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the nanosystem validating the application of nanotechnology in targeted alpha therapy with [²²³Ra]RₐCl₂. In addition, the [²²³Rₐ]RaCl₂nanomicelles may be decorated and incorporated with a great variety of agents and compounds (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, aptamers, peptides) to overcome the limited use of [²²³Ra]RₐCl₂. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=nanomicelles" title="nanomicelles">nanomicelles</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=osteosarcoma" title=" osteosarcoma"> osteosarcoma</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=radium%20dichloride" title=" radium dichloride"> radium dichloride</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=targeted%20alpha%20therapy" title=" targeted alpha therapy"> targeted alpha therapy</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/152850/production-characterization-and-in-vitro-evaluation-of-223raracl2-nanomicelles-for-targeted-alpha-therapy-of-osteosarcoma" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/152850.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">117</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">21</span> Intracellular Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 3 Contributes to Lung Tumor Cell Proliferation</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Michela%20Terlizzi">Michela Terlizzi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chiara%20Colarusso"> Chiara Colarusso</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Aldo%20Pinto"> Aldo Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rosalinda%20Sorrentino"> Rosalinda Sorrentino</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a membrane-derived bioactive phospholipid exerting a multitude of effects on respiratory cell physiology and pathology through five S1P receptors (S1PR1-5). Higher levels of S1P have been registered in a broad range of respiratory diseases, including inflammatory disorders and cancer, although its exact role is still elusive. Based on our previous study in which we found that S1P/S1PR3 is involved in an inflammatory pattern via the activation of Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9), highly expressed on lung cancer cells, the main goal of the current study was to better understand the involvement of S1P/S1PR3 pathway/signaling during lung carcinogenesis, taking advantage of a mouse model of first-hand smoke exposure and of carcinogen-induced lung cancer. We used human samples of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), a mouse model of first-hand smoking, and of Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)-induced tumor-bearing mice and A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. We found that the intranuclear, but not the membrane, localization of S1PR3 was associated to the proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cells, the mechanism that was correlated to human and mouse samples of smoke-exposure and carcinogen-induced lung cancer, which were characterized by higher utilization of S1P. Indeed, the inhibition of the membrane S1PR3 did not alter tumor cell proliferation after TLR9 activation. Instead, according to the nuclear localization of sphingosine kinase (SPHK) II, the enzyme responsible for the catalysis of the S1P last step synthesis, the inhibition of the kinase completely blocked the endogenous S1P-induced tumor cell proliferation. These results prove that the endogenous TLR9-induced S1P can on one side favor pro-inflammatory mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment via the activation of cell surface receptors, but on the other tumor progression via the nuclear S1PR3/SPHK II axis, highlighting a novel molecular mechanism that identifies S1P as one of the crucial mediators for lung carcinogenesis-associated inflammatory processes and that could provide differential therapeutic approaches especially in non-responsive lung cancer patients. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sphingosine-1-phosphate%20%28S1P%29" title="sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)">sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=S1P%20Receptor%203%20%28S1PR3%29" title=" S1P Receptor 3 (S1PR3)"> S1P Receptor 3 (S1PR3)</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=smoking-mice" title=" smoking-mice"> smoking-mice</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lung%20inflammation" title=" lung inflammation"> lung inflammation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=lung%20cancer" title=" lung cancer"> lung cancer</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/143416/intracellular-sphingosine-1-phosphate-receptor-3-contributes-to-lung-tumor-cell-proliferation" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/143416.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">201</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">20</span> Monitoring of Vector Mosquitors of Diseases in Areas of Energy Employment Influence in the Amazon (Amapa State), Brazil</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ribeiro%20Tiago%20Magalh%C3%A3es">Ribeiro Tiago Magalhães</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of a hydroelectric power plant in the state of Amapá, and to present the results obtained by dimensioning the diversity of the main mosquito vectors involved in the transmission of pathogens that cause diseases such as malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis. Methodology: The present study was conducted on the banks of the Araguari River, in the municipalities of Porto Grande and Ferreira Gomes in the southern region of Amapá State. Nine monitoring campaigns were conducted, the first in April 2014 and the last in March 2016. The selection of the catch sites was done in order to prioritize areas with possible occurrence of the species considered of greater importance for public health and areas of contact between the wild environment and humans. Sampling efforts aimed to identify the local vector fauna and to relate it to the transmission of diseases. In this way, three phases of collection were established, covering the schedules of greater hematophageal activity. Sampling was carried out using Shannon Shack and CDC types of light traps and by means of specimen collection with the hold method. This procedure was carried out during the morning (between 08:00 and 11:00), afternoon-twilight (between 15:30 and 18:30) and night (between 18:30 and 22:00). In the specific methodology of capture with the use of the CDC equipment, the delimited times were from 18:00 until 06:00 the following day. Results: A total of 32 species of mosquitoes was identified, and a total of 2,962 specimens was taxonomically subdivided into three genera (Culicidae, Psychodidae and Simuliidae) Psorophora, Sabethes, Simulium, Uranotaenia and Wyeomyia), besides those represented by the family Psychodidae that due to the morphological complexities, allows the safe identification (without the method of diaphanization and assembly of slides for microscopy), only at the taxonomic level of subfamily (Phlebotominae). Conclusion: The nine monitoring campaigns carried out provided the basis for the design of the possible epidemiological structure in the areas of influence of the Cachoeira Caldeirão HPP, in order to point out among the points established for sampling, which would represent greater possibilities, according to the group of identified mosquitoes, of disease acquisition. However, what should be mainly considered, are the future events arising from reservoir filling. This argument is based on the fact that the reproductive success of Culicidae is intrinsically related to the aquatic environment for the development of its larvae until adulthood. From the moment that the water mirror is expanded in new environments for the formation of the reservoir, a modification in the process of development and hatching of the eggs deposited in the substrate can occur, causing a sudden explosion in the abundance of some genera, in special Anopheles, which holds preferences for denser forest environments, close to the water portions. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Amazon" title="Amazon">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hydroelectric" title=" hydroelectric"> hydroelectric</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=power" title=" power"> power</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=plants" title=" plants"> plants</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/83324/monitoring-of-vector-mosquitors-of-diseases-in-areas-of-energy-employment-influence-in-the-amazon-amapa-state-brazil" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/83324.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">193</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">19</span> Optimization Approach to Integrated Production-Inventory-Routing Problem for Oxygen Supply Chains</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yena%20Lee">Yena Lee</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Vassilis%20M.%20Charitopoulos"> Vassilis M. Charitopoulos</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Karthik%20Thyagarajan"> Karthik Thyagarajan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ian%20Morris"> Ian Morris</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jose%20M.%20Pinto"> Jose M. Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Lazaros%20G.%20Papageorgiou"> Lazaros G. Papageorgiou</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> With globalisation, the need to have better coordination of production and distribution decisions has become increasingly important for industrial gas companies in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. In this work, we investigate a problem that integrates production, inventory, and routing decisions in a liquid oxygen supply chain. The oxygen supply chain consists of production facilities, external third-party suppliers, and multiple customers, including hospitals and industrial customers. The product produced by the plants or sourced from the competitors, i.e., third-party suppliers, is distributed by a fleet of heterogenous vehicles to satisfy customer demands. The objective is to minimise the total operating cost involving production, third-party, and transportation costs. The key decisions for production include production and inventory levels and product amount from third-party suppliers. In contrast, the distribution decisions involve customer allocation, delivery timing, delivery amount, and vehicle routing. The optimisation of the coordinated production, inventory, and routing decisions is a challenging problem, especially when dealing with large-size problems. Thus, we present a two-stage procedure to solve the integrated problem efficiently. First, the problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model by simplifying the routing component. The solution from the first-stage MILP model yields the optimal customer allocation, production and inventory levels, and delivery timing and amount. Then, we fix the previous decisions and solve a detailed routing. In the second stage, we propose a column generation scheme to address the computational complexity of the resulting detailed routing problem. A case study considering a real-life oxygen supply chain in the UK is presented to illustrate the capability of the proposed models and solution method. Furthermore, a comparison of the solutions from the proposed approach with the corresponding solutions provided by existing metaheuristic techniques (e.g., guided local search and tabu search algorithms) is presented to evaluate the efficiency. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=production%20planning" title="production planning">production planning</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=inventory%20routing" title=" inventory routing"> inventory routing</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=column%20generation" title=" column generation"> column generation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mixed-integer%20linear%20programming" title=" mixed-integer linear programming"> mixed-integer linear programming</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146676/optimization-approach-to-integrated-production-inventory-routing-problem-for-oxygen-supply-chains" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146676.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">112</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">18</span> Creatine Associated with Resistance Training Increases Muscle Mass in the Elderly</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Camila%20Lemos%20Pinto">Camila Lemos Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Juliana%20Alves%20Carneiro"> Juliana Alves Carneiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Patr%C3%ADcia%20Borges%20Botelho"> Patrícia Borges Botelho</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jo%C3%A3o%20Felipe%20Mota"> João Felipe Mota</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Sarcopenia, a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, currently affects over 50 million people and increases the risk of adverse outcomes such as physical disability, poor quality of life and death. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of creatine supplementation associated with resistance training on muscle mass in the elderly. A 12-week, double blind, randomized, parallel group, placebo controlled trial was conducted. Participants were randomly allocated into one of the following groups: placebo with resistance training (PL+RT, n=14) and creatine supplementation with resistance training (CR + RT, n=13). The subjects from CR+RT group received 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate and the subjects from the PL+RT group were given the same dose of maltodextrin. Participants were instructed to ingest the supplement on non-training days immediately after lunch and on training days immediately after resistance training sessions dissolved in a beverage comprising 100 g of maltodextrin lemon flavored. Participants of both groups undertook a supervised exercise training program for 12 weeks (3 times per week). The subjects were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The primary outcome was muscle mass, assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The secondary outcome included diagnose participants with one of the three stages of sarcopenia (presarcopenia, sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia) by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), handgrip strength and gait speed. CR+RT group had a significant increase in SMI and muscle (p<0.0001), a significant decrease in android and gynoid fat (p = 0.028 and p=0.035, respectively) and a tendency of decreasing in body fat (p=0.053) after the intervention. PL+RT only had a significant increase in SMI (p=0.007). The main finding of this clinical trial indicated that creatine supplementation combined with resistance training was capable of increasing muscle mass in our elderly cohort (p=0.02). In addition, the number of subjects diagnosed with one of the three stages of sarcopenia at baseline decreased in the creatine supplemented group in comparison with the placebo group (CR+RT, n=-3; PL+RT, n=0). In summary, 12 weeks of creatine supplementation associated with resistance training resulted in increases in muscle mass. This is the first research with elderly of both sexes that show the same increase in muscle mass with a minor quantity of creatine supplementation in a short period. Future long-term research should investigate the effects of these interventions in sarcopenic elderly. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=creatine" title="creatine">creatine</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=dietetic%20supplement" title=" dietetic supplement"> dietetic supplement</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=elderly" title=" elderly"> elderly</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=resistance%20training" title=" resistance training"> resistance training</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/27549/creatine-associated-with-resistance-training-increases-muscle-mass-in-the-elderly" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/27549.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">474</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">17</span> Assessment of OTA Contamination in Rice from Fungal Growth Alterations in a Scenario of Climate Changes</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Carolina%20S.%20Monteiro">Carolina S. Monteiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Eug%C3%A9nia%20Pinto"> Eugénia Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Miguel%20A.%20Faria"> Miguel A. Faria</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sara%20C.%20Cunha"> Sara C. Cunha</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Rice (Oryza sativa) production plays a vital role in reducing hunger and poverty and assumes particular importance in low-income and developing countries. Rice is a sensitive plant, and production occurs strictly where suitable temperature and water conditions are found. Climatic changes are likely to affect worldwide, and some models have predicted increased temperatures, variations in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and modification in precipitation patterns. Therefore, the ongoing climatic changes threaten rice production by increasing biotic and abiotic stress factors, and crops will grow in different environmental conditions in the following years. Around the world, the effects will be regional and can be detrimental or advantageous depending on the region. Mediterranean zones have been identified as possible hot spots, where dramatic temperature changes, modifications of CO₂ levels, and rainfall patterns are predicted. The actual estimated atmospheric CO₂ concentration is around 400 ppm, and it is predicted that it can reach up to 1000–1200 ppm, which can lead to a temperature increase of 2–4 °C. Alongside, rainfall patterns are also expected to change, with more extreme wet/dry episodes taking place. As a result, it could increase the migration of pathogens, and a shift in the occurrence of mycotoxins, concerning their types and concentrations, is expected. Mycotoxigenic spoilage fungi can colonize the crops and be present in all rice food chain supplies, especially Penicillium species, mainly resulting in ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination. In this scenario, the objectives of the present study are evaluating the effect of temperature (20 vs. 25 °C), CO₂ (400 vs. 1000 ppm), and water stress (0.93 vs 0.95 water activity) on growth and OTA production by a Penicillium nordicum strain in vitro on rice-based media and when colonizing layers of raw rice. Results demonstrate the effect of temperature, CO₂ and drought on the OTA production in a rice-based environment, thus contributing to the development of mycotoxins predictive models in climate change scenarios. As a result, improving mycotoxins' surveillance and monitoring systems, whose occurrence can be more frequent due to climatic changes, seems relevant and necessary. The development of prediction models for hazard contaminants presents in foods highly sensitive to climatic changes, such as mycotoxins, in the highly probable new agricultural scenarios is of paramount importance. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=climate%20changes" title="climate changes">climate changes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=ochratoxin%20A" title=" ochratoxin A"> ochratoxin A</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=penicillium" title=" penicillium"> penicillium</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=rice" title=" rice"> rice</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/179327/assessment-of-ota-contamination-in-rice-from-fungal-growth-alterations-in-a-scenario-of-climate-changes" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/179327.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">69</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">16</span> Experimental Activity on the Photovoltaic Effect</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Salom%C3%A3o%20Manuel%20Francisco">Salomão Manuel Francisco</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Manuel%20Ant%C3%B3nio%20Salgueiro%20Da%20Silva"> Manuel António Salgueiro Da Silva</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Bento%20Filipe%20Barreiras%20Pinto%20Cavadas"> Bento Filipe Barreiras Pinto Cavadas</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Teresa%20Monteiro%20Seixas"> Teresa Monteiro Seixas</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> In bachelor's degrees in Physics Education framework in Angola, and to a certain extent, within the community of Portuguese language countries (CPLP), teaching methodologies rely heavily on theoretical memorization and mathematical demonstrations. This approach often discourages students, particularly the female population, as the reliance on theoretical mathematical demonstrations generates the perception of Physics as an arduous, challenging discipline. To address this challenge and recognize the value of practical application as an evaluative criterion of material truth, we propose a practical activity in Environmental Physics that will be shared with Angolan higher education teachers, who will receive full scaffolding and support from the authors. These teachers, adopting and developing similar activities in a classroom setting, will contribute to the environmental education framework as well. Additionally, this work aligns with different goals of UNESCO's 2030 agenda, namely, specifically, goals 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, and 17. The experimental activity developed in this work is centered around the demonstration of the photovoltaic effect and its application for renewable energy production. The first objective of the activity is to study the variation of electrical power supplied by a photovoltaic system (PV) to an electrical circuit as the angle of light incidence changes. Students can observe that the power supplied to the circuit is greater when light rays fall perpendicularly on the PV. However, as the angle of incidence increases, resulting in a larger area covered by the light rays, the power supplied to the circuit decreases due to lower irradiance. The second objective is to demonstrate that the power output can be maximized by adjusting the circuit load resistance at each irradiance value. In these two parts of the activity, students can analyze experimental data taking into account the irradiance law and the equivalent circuit description of a PV cell. Through detailed data analysis, students are also expected to assess the effects of temperature on PV efficiency degradation and the efficiency enhancement provided by light concentration mechanisms. As a third objective, students can explore how the color of incident light affects the PV output power, considering the quantum nature of light and its interaction with the PV system. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=experiments" title="experiments">experiments</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=irradiation%20law" title=" irradiation law"> irradiation law</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=physic%20teaching" title=" physic teaching"> physic teaching</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=photovoltaic%20effect" title=" photovoltaic effect"> photovoltaic effect</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/168923/experimental-activity-on-the-photovoltaic-effect" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/168923.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">83</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">15</span> MOVIDA.polis: Physical Activity mHealth Based Platform</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rui%20Fonseca-Pinto">Rui Fonseca-Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Emanuel%20Silva"> Emanuel Silva</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rui%20Rijo"> Rui Rijo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ricardo%20Martinho"> Ricardo Martinho</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Bruno%20Carreira"> Bruno Carreira</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The sedentary lifestyle is associated to the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases (obesity, hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus Type 2) and the World Health Organization, given the evidence that physical activity is determinant for individual and collective health, defined the Physical Activity Level (PAL) as a vital signal. Strategies for increasing the practice of physical activity in all age groups have emerged from the various social organizations (municipalities, universities, health organizations, companies, social groups) by increasingly developing innovative strategies to promote motivation strategies and conditions to the practice of physical activity. The adaptation of cities to the new paradigms of sustainable mobility has provided the adaptation of urban training circles and mobilized citizens to combat sedentarism. This adaptation has accompanied the technological evolution and makes possible the use of mobile technology to monitor outdoor training programs and also, through the network connection (IoT), use the training data to make personalized recommendations. This work presents a physical activity counseling platform to be used in the physical maintenance circuits of urban centers, the MOVIDA.polis. The platform consists of a back office for the management of circuits and training stations, and for a mobile application for monitoring the user performance during workouts. Using a QRcode, each training station is recognized by the App and based on the individual performance records (effort perception, heart rate variation) artificial intelligence algorithms are used to make a new personalized recommendation. The results presented in this work were obtained during the proof of concept phase, which was carried out in the PolisLeiria training circuit in the city of Leiria (Portugal). It was possible to verify the increase in adherence to the practice of physical activity, as well as to decrease the interval between training days. Moreover, the AI-based recommendation acts as a partner in the training and an additional challenging factor. The platform is ready to be used by other municipalities in order to reduce the levels of sedentarism and approach the weekly goal of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia FCT- Portugal and CENTRO2020 under the scope of MOVIDA project: 02/SAICT/2016 – 23878. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=physical%20activity" title="physical activity">physical activity</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mHealth" title=" mHealth"> mHealth</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=urban%20training%20circuits" title=" urban training circuits"> urban training circuits</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=health%20promotion" title=" health promotion"> health promotion</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109962/movidapolis-physical-activity-mhealth-based-platform" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109962.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">172</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">14</span> Winkler Springs for Embedded Beams Subjected to S-Waves</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Franco%20Primo%20Soffietti">Franco Primo Soffietti</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Diego%20Fernando%20Turello"> Diego Fernando Turello</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Federico%20Pinto"> Federico Pinto</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Shear waves that propagate through the ground impose deformations that must be taken into account in the design and assessment of buried longitudinal structures such as tunnels, pipelines, and piles. Conventional engineering approaches for seismic evaluation often rely on a Euler-Bernoulli beam models supported by a Winkler foundation. This approach, however, falls short in capturing the distortions induced when the structure is subjected to shear waves. To overcome these limitations, in the present work an analytical solution is proposed considering a Timoshenko beam and including transverse and rotational springs. The present research proposes ground springs derived as closed-form analytical solutions of the equations of elasticity including the seismic wavelength. These proposed springs extend the applicability of previous plane-strain models. By considering variations in displacements along the longitudinal direction, the presented approach ensures the springs do not approach zero at low frequencies. This characteristic makes them suitable for assessing pseudo-static cases, which typically govern structural forces in kinematic interaction analyses. The results obtained, validated against existing literature and a 3D Finite Element model, reveal several key insights: i) the cutoff frequency significantly influences transverse and rotational springs; ii) neglecting displacement variations along the structure axis (i.e., assuming plane-strain deformation) results in unrealistically low transverse springs, particularly for wavelengths shorter than the structure length; iii) disregarding lateral displacement components in rotational springs and neglecting variations along the structure axis leads to inaccurately low spring values, misrepresenting interaction phenomena; iv) transverse springs exhibit a notable drop in resonance frequency, followed by increasing damping as frequency rises; v) rotational springs show minor frequency-dependent variations, with radiation damping occurring beyond resonance frequencies, starting from negative values. This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the complex behavior of embedded longitudinal structures when subjected to shear waves and provides valuable insights for the seismic assessment. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=shear%20waves" title="shear waves">shear waves</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Timoshenko%20beams" title=" Timoshenko beams"> Timoshenko beams</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Winkler%20springs" title=" Winkler springs"> Winkler springs</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sol-structure%20interaction" title=" sol-structure interaction"> sol-structure interaction</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/173963/winkler-springs-for-embedded-beams-subjected-to-s-waves" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/173963.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">61</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">13</span> The Evaluation of Child Maltreatment Severity and the Decision-Making Processes in the Child Protection System </h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Maria%20M.%20Calheiros">Maria M. Calheiros</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Carla%20Silva"> Carla Silva</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Eunice%20Magalh%C3%A3es"> Eunice Magalhães</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Professionals working in child protection services (CPS) need to have common and clear criteria to identify cases of maltreatment and to differentiate levels of severity in order to determine when CPS intervention is required, its nature and urgency, and, in most countries, the service that will be in charge of the case (community or specialized CPS). Actually, decision-making process is complex in CPS, and, for that reason, such criteria are particularly important for who significantly contribute to that decision-making in child maltreatment cases. The main objective of this presentation is to describe the Maltreatment Severity Assessment Questionnaire (MSQ), specifically designed to be used by professionals in the CPS, which adopts a multidimensional approach and uses a scale of severity within subtypes. Specifically, we aim to provide evidence of validity and reliability of this tool, in order to improve the quality and validity of assessment processes and, consequently, the decision making in CPS. The total sample was composed of 1000 children and/or adolescents (51.1% boys), aged between 0 and 18 years old (M = 9.47; DP = 4.51). All the participants were referred to official institutions of the children and youth protective system. Children and adolescents maltreatment (abuse, neglect experiences and sexual abuse) were assessed with 21 items of the Maltreatment Severity Questionnaire (MSQ), by professionals of CPS. Each item (sub-type) was composed of four descriptors of increasing severity. Professionals rated the level of severity, using a 4-point scale (1= minimally severe; 2= moderately severe; 3= highly severe; 4= extremely severe). The construct validity of the Maltreatment Severity Questionnaire was assessed with a holdout method, performing an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) followed by a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The final solution comprised 18 items organized in three factors 47.3% of variance explained. ‘Physical neglect’ (eight items) was defined by parental omissions concerning the insurance and monitoring of the child’s physical well-being and health, namely in terms of clothing, hygiene, housing conditions and contextual environmental security. ‘Physical and Psychological Abuse’ (four items) described abusive physical and psychological actions, namely, coercive/punitive disciplinary methods, physically violent methods or verbal interactions that offend and denigrate the child, with the potential to disrupt psychological attributes (e.g., self-esteem). ‘Psychological neglect’ (six items) involved omissions related to children emotional development, mental health monitoring, school attendance, development needs, as well as inappropriate relationship patterns with attachment figures. Results indicated a good reliability of all the factors. The assessment of child maltreatment cases with MSQ could have a set of practical and research implications: a) It is a valid and reliable multidimensional instrument to measure child maltreatment, b) It is an instrument integrating the co-occurrence of various types of maltreatment and a within-subtypes scale of severity; c) Specifically designed for professionals, it may assist them in decision-making processes; d) More than using case file reports to evaluate maltreatment experiences, researchers could guide more appropriately their research about determinants and consequences of maltreatment. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=assessment" title="assessment">assessment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=maltreatment" title=" maltreatment"> maltreatment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=children%20and%20youth" title=" children and youth"> children and youth</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=decision-making" title=" decision-making"> decision-making</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/81387/the-evaluation-of-child-maltreatment-severity-and-the-decision-making-processes-in-the-child-protection-system" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/81387.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">290</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">12</span> Detection of Triclosan in Water Based on Nanostructured Thin Films</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=G.%20Magalh%C3%A3es-Mota">G. Magalhães-Mota</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=C.%20Magro"> C. Magro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=S.%20S%C3%A9rio"> S. Sério</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=E.%20Mateus"> E. Mateus</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=P.%20A.%20Ribeiro"> P. A. Ribeiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=A.%20B.%20Ribeiro"> A. B. Ribeiro</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=M.%20Raposo"> M. Raposo </a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Triclosan [5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenol], belonging to the class of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent and bactericide. Because of its antimicrobial efficacy, it is widely used in personal health and skin care products, such as soaps, detergents, hand cleansers, cosmetics, toothpastes, etc. However, it has been considered to disrupt the endocrine system, for instance, thyroid hormone homeostasis and possibly the reproductive system. Considering the widespread use of triclosan, it is expected that environmental and food safety problems regarding triclosan will increase dramatically. Triclosan has been found in river water samples in both North America and Europe and is likely widely distributed wherever triclosan-containing products are used. Although significant amounts are removed in sewage plants, considerable quantities remain in the sewage effluent, initiating widespread environmental contamination. Triclosan undergoes bioconversion to methyl-triclosan, which has been demonstrated to bio accumulate in fish. In addition, triclosan has been found in human urine samples from persons with no known industrial exposure and in significant amounts in samples of mother's milk, demonstrating its presence in humans. The action of sunlight in river water is known to turn triclosan into dioxin derivatives and raises the possibility of pharmacological dangers not envisioned when the compound was originally utilized. The aim of this work is to detect low concentrations of triclosan in an aqueous complex matrix through the use of a sensor array system, following the electronic tongue concept based on impedance spectroscopy. To achieve this goal, we selected the appropriate molecules to the sensor so that there is a high affinity for triclosan and whose sensitivity ensures the detection of concentrations of at least nano-molar. Thin films of organic molecules and oxides have been produced by the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique and sputtered onto glass solid supports already covered by gold interdigitated electrodes. By submerging the films in complex aqueous solutions with different concentrations of triclosan, resistance and capacitance values were obtained at different frequencies. The preliminary results showed that an array of interdigitated electrodes sensor coated or uncoated with different LbL and films, can be used to detect TCS traces in aqueous solutions in a wide range concentration, from 10⁻¹² to 10⁻⁶ M. The PCA method was applied to the measured data, in order to differentiate the solutions with different concentrations of TCS. Moreover, was also possible to trace a curve, the plot of the logarithm of resistance versus the logarithm of concentration, which allowed us to fit the plotted data points with a decreasing straight line with a slope of 0.022 ± 0.006 which corresponds to the best sensitivity of our sensor. To find the sensor resolution near of the smallest concentration (Cs) used, 1pM, the minimum measured value which can be measured with resolution is 0.006, so the ∆logC =0.006/0.022=0.273, and, therefore, C-Cs~0.9 pM. This leads to a sensor resolution of 0.9 pM for the smallest concentration used, 1pM. This attained detection limit is lower than the values obtained in the literature. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=triclosan" title="triclosan">triclosan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=layer-by-layer" title=" layer-by-layer"> layer-by-layer</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=impedance%20spectroscopy" title=" impedance spectroscopy"> impedance spectroscopy</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=electronic%20tongue" title=" electronic tongue"> electronic tongue</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/63514/detection-of-triclosan-in-water-based-on-nanostructured-thin-films" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/63514.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">252</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">11</span> Rupture in the Paradigm of the International Policy of Illicit Drugs in the Field of Public Health and within the Framework of the World Health Organization, 2001 to 2016</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Emy%20Nayana%20Pinto">Emy Nayana Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Denise%20Bomtempo%20Birche%20De%20Carvalho"> Denise Bomtempo Birche De Carvalho</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> In the present study, the harmful use of illicit drugs is seen as a public health problem and as one of the expressions of the social question, since its consequences fall mainly on the poorer classes of the population. This perspective is a counterpoint to the dominant paradigm on illicit drug policy at the global level, whose centrality lies within the criminal justice arena. The 'drug problem' is internationally combated through fragmented approaches that focus its actions on banning and criminalizing users. In this sense, the research seeks to answer the following key questions: What are the influences of the prohibitionism in the recommendations of the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the formulation of drug policies in member countries? What are the actors that have been provoking the prospect of breaking with the prohibitionist paradigm? What is the WHO contribution to the rupture with the prohibitionist paradigm and the displacement of the drug problem in the field of public health? The general objective of this work is to seek evidence from the perspective of rupture with the prohibitionist paradigm in the field of drugs policies at the global and regional level, through analysis of documents of the World Health Organization (WHO), between the years of 2001 to 2016. The research was carried out in bibliographical and documentary sources. The bibliographic sources contributed to the approach with the object and the theoretical basis of the research. The documentary sources served to answer the research questions and evidence the existence of the perspective of change in drug policy. Twenty-two documents of the UN system were consulted, of which fifteen had the contribution of the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to the documents that directly relate to the subject of the research, documents from various agencies, programs, and offices, such as the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which also has drugs as the central or transversal theme of its performance. The results showed that from the 2000s it was possible to find in the literature review and in the documentary analysis evidence of the critique of the prohibitionist paradigm parallel to the construction of a new perspective for drug policy at the global level and the displacement of criminal justice approaches for the scope of public health, with the adoption of alternative and pragmatic interventions based on human rights, scientific evidence and the reduction of social damages and health by the misuse of illicit drugs. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=illicit%20drugs" title="illicit drugs">illicit drugs</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=international%20organizations" title=" international organizations"> international organizations</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=prohibitionism" title=" prohibitionism"> prohibitionism</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=public%20health" title=" public health"> public health</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=World%20Health%20Organization" title=" World Health Organization"> World Health Organization</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/87276/rupture-in-the-paradigm-of-the-international-policy-of-illicit-drugs-in-the-field-of-public-health-and-within-the-framework-of-the-world-health-organization-2001-to-2016" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/87276.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">156</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">10</span> Assessment of Agricultural Intervention on Ecosystem Services in the Central-South Zone of Chile</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Steven%20Hidalgo">Steven Hidalgo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Patricio%20Neumann"> Patricio Neumann</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The growth of societies has increased the consumption of raw materials and food obtained from nature. This has influenced the services offered by ecosystems to humans, mainly supply and regulation services. One of the indicators used to evaluate these services is Net Primary Productivity (NPP), which is understood as the energy stored in the form of biomass by primary organisms through the process of photosynthesis and respiration. The variation of NPP by defined area produces changes in the properties of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, which alter factors such as biodiversity, nutrient cycling, carbon storage and water quality. The analysis of NPP to evaluate variations in ecosystem services includes harvested NPP (understood as provisioning services), which is the raw material from agricultural systems used by humans as a source of energy and food, and the remaining NPP (expressed as a regulating service) or the amount of biomass that remains in ecosystems after the harvesting process, which is mainly related to factors such as biodiversity. Given that agriculture is a fundamental pillar of Chile's integral development, the purpose of this study is to evaluate provisioning and regulating ecosystem services in the agricultural sector, specifically in cereal production, in the communes of the central-southern regions of Chile through a conceptual framework based on the quantification of the fraction of Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) and the fraction remaining in the ecosystems (NPP remaining). A total of 161 communes were analyzed in the regions of O'Higgins, Maule, Ñuble, Bio-Bío, La Araucanía and Los Lagos, which are characterized by having the largest areas planted with cereals. It was observed that the region of La Araucanía produces the greatest amount of dry matter, understood as provisioning service, where Victoria is the commune with the highest cereal production in the country. In addition, the maximum value of HANPP was in the O'Higgins region, highlighting the communes of Coltauco, Quinta de Tilcoco, Placilla and Rengo. On the other hand, the communes of Futrono, Pinto, Lago Ranco and Pemuco, whose cereal production was important during the study, had the highest values of remaining NPP as a regulating service. Finally, an inverse correlation was observed between the provisioning and regulating ecosystem services, i.e., the higher the cereal or dry matter production in a defined area, the lower the net primary production remaining in the ecosystems. Based on this study, future research will focus on the evaluation of ecosystem services associated with other crops, such as forestry plantations, whose activity is an important part of the country's productive sector. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=provisioning%20services" title="provisioning services">provisioning services</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=regulating%20services" title=" regulating services"> regulating services</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=net%20primary%20productivity" title=" net primary productivity"> net primary productivity</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=agriculture" title=" agriculture"> agriculture</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/166423/assessment-of-agricultural-intervention-on-ecosystem-services-in-the-central-south-zone-of-chile" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/166423.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">97</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">9</span> Staphylococcus Aureus Septic Arthritis and Necrotizing Fasciitis in a Patient With Undiagnosed Diabetes Mellitus.</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Pedro%20Batista">Pedro Batista</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Andr%C3%A9%20Vinha"> André Vinha</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Filipe%20Castelo"> Filipe Castelo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=B%C3%A1rbara%20Costa"> Bárbara Costa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ricardo%20Sousa"> Ricardo Sousa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Raquel%20Ricardo"> Raquel Ricardo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Andr%C3%A9%20Pinto"> André Pinto</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background: Septic arthritis is a diagnosis that must be considered in any patient presenting with acute joint swelling and fever. Among the several risk factors for septic arthritis, such as age, rheumatoid arthritis, recent surgery, or skin infection, diabetes mellitus can sometimes be the main risk factor. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen isolated in septic arthritis; however, it is uncommon in monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis. Objectives: A case report of concomitant septic arthritis and necrotizing fasciitis in a patient with undiagnosed diabetes based on clinical history. Study Design & Methods: We report a case of a 58-year-old Portuguese previously healthy man who presented to the emergency department with fever and left knee swelling and pain for two days. The blood work revealed ketonemia of 6.7 mmol/L and glycemia of 496 mg/dL. The vital signs were significant for a temperature of 38.5 ºC and 123 bpm of heart rate. The left knee had edema and inflammatory signs. Computed tomography of the left knee showed diffuse edema of the subcutaneous cellular tissue and soft tissue air bubbles. A diagnosis of septic arthritis and necrotising fasciitis was made. He was taken to the operating room for surgical debridement. The samples collected intraoperatively were sent for microbiological analysis, revealing infection by multi-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Given this result, the empiric flucloxacillin (500 mg IV) and clindamycin (1000 mg IV) were maintained for 3 weeks. On the seventh day of hospitalization, there was a significant improvement in subcutaneous and musculoskeletal tissues. After two weeks of hospitalization, there was no purulent content and partial closure of the wounds was possible. After 3 weeks, he was switched to oral antibiotics (flucloxacillin 500 mg). A week later, a urinary infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was diagnosed and ciprofloxacin 500 mg was administered for 7 days without complications. After 30 days of hospital admission, the patient was discharged home and recovered. Results: The final diagnosis of concomitant septic arthritis and necrotizing fasciitis was made based on the imaging findings, surgical exploration and microbiological tests results. Conclusions: Early antibiotic administration and surgical debridement are key in the management of septic arthritis and necrotizing fasciitis. Furthermore, risk factors control (euglycemic blood glucose levels) must always be taken into account given the crucial role in the patient's recovery. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=septic%20arthritis" title="septic arthritis">septic arthritis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Necrotizing%20fasciitis" title=" Necrotizing fasciitis"> Necrotizing fasciitis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=diabetes" title=" diabetes"> diabetes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Staphylococcus%20Aureus" title=" Staphylococcus Aureus"> Staphylococcus Aureus</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/158831/staphylococcus-aureus-septic-arthritis-and-necrotizing-fasciitis-in-a-patient-with-undiagnosed-diabetes-mellitus" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/158831.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">315</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">8</span> Contribution of Word Decoding and Reading Fluency on Reading Comprehension in Young Typical Readers of Kannada Language</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Vangmayee%20V.%20Subban">Vangmayee V. Subban</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Suzan%20Deelan.%20Pinto"> Suzan Deelan. Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Somashekara%20Haralakatta%20Shivananjappa"> Somashekara Haralakatta Shivananjappa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shwetha%20Prabhu"> Shwetha Prabhu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jayashree%20S.%20Bhat"> Jayashree S. Bhat</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Introduction and Need: During early years of schooling, the instruction in the schools mainly focus on children’s word decoding abilities. However, the skilled readers should master all the components of reading such as word decoding, reading fluency and comprehension. Nevertheless, the relationship between each component during the process of learning to read is less clear. The studies conducted in alphabetical languages have mixed opinion on relative contribution of word decoding and reading fluency on reading comprehension. However, the scenarios in alphasyllabary languages are unexplored. Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore the role of word decoding, reading fluency on reading comprehension abilities in children learning to read Kannada between the age ranges of 5.6 to 8.6 years. Method: In this cross sectional study, a total of 60 typically developing children, 20 each from Grade I, Grade II, Grade III maintaining equal gender ratio between the age range of 5.6 to 6.6 years, 6.7 to 7.6 years and 7.7 to 8.6 years respectively were selected from Kannada medium schools. The reading fluency and reading comprehension abilities of the children were assessed using Grade level passages selected from the Kannada text book of children core curriculum. All the passages consist of five questions to assess reading comprehension. The pseudoword decoding skills were assessed using 40 pseudowords with varying syllable length and their Akshara composition. Pseudowords are formed by interchanging the syllables within the meaningful word while maintaining the phonotactic constraints of Kannada language. The assessment material was subjected to content validation and reliability measures before collecting the data on the study samples. The data were collected individually, and reading fluency was assessed for words correctly read per minute. Pseudoword decoding was scored for the accuracy of reading. Results: The descriptive statistics indicated that the mean pseudoword reading, reading comprehension, words accurately read per minute increased with the Grades. The performance of Grade III children found to be higher, Grade I lower and Grade II remained intermediate of Grade III and Grade I. The trend indicated that reading skills gradually improve with the Grades. Pearson’s correlation co-efficient showed moderate and highly significant (p=0.00) positive co-relation between the variables, indicating the interdependency of all the three components required for reading. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed 37% variance in reading comprehension was explained by pseudoword decoding and was highly significant. Subsequent entry of reading fluency measure, there was no significant change in R-square and was only change 3%. Therefore, pseudoword-decoding evolved as a single most significant predictor of reading comprehension during early Grades of reading acquisition. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the pseudoword decoding skills contribute significantly to reading comprehension than reading fluency during initial years of schooling in children learning to read Kannada language. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=alphasyllabary" title="alphasyllabary">alphasyllabary</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=pseudo-word%20decoding" title=" pseudo-word decoding"> pseudo-word decoding</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=reading%20comprehension" title=" reading comprehension"> reading comprehension</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=reading%20fluency" title=" reading fluency"> reading fluency</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/101467/contribution-of-word-decoding-and-reading-fluency-on-reading-comprehension-in-young-typical-readers-of-kannada-language" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/101467.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">262</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">7</span> Hardware Implementation for the Contact Force Reconstruction in Tactile Sensor Arrays</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mar%C3%ADa-Luisa%20Pinto-Salamanca">María-Luisa Pinto-Salamanca</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Wilson-Javier%20P%C3%A9rez-Holgu%C3%ADn"> Wilson-Javier Pérez-Holguín</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Reconstruction of contact forces is a fundamental technique for analyzing the properties of a touched object and is essential for regulating the grip force in slip control loops. This is based on the processing of the distribution, intensity, and direction of the forces during the capture of the sensors. Currently, efficient hardware alternatives have been used more frequently in different fields of application, allowing the implementation of computationally complex algorithms, as is the case with tactile signal processing. The use of hardware for smart tactile sensing systems is a research area that promises to improve the processing time and portability requirements of applications such as artificial skin and robotics, among others. The literature review shows that hardware implementations are present today in almost all stages of smart tactile detection systems except in the force reconstruction process, a stage in which they have been less applied. This work presents a hardware implementation of a model-driven reported in the literature for the contact force reconstruction of flat and rigid tactile sensor arrays from normal stress data. From the analysis of a software implementation of such a model, this implementation proposes the parallelization of tasks that facilitate the execution of matrix operations and a two-dimensional optimization function to obtain a vector force by each taxel in the array. This work seeks to take advantage of the parallel hardware characteristics of Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGAs, and the possibility of applying appropriate techniques for algorithms parallelization using as a guide the rules of generalization, efficiency, and scalability in the tactile decoding process and considering the low latency, low power consumption, and real-time execution as the main parameters of design. The results show a maximum estimation error of 32% in the tangential forces and 22% in the normal forces with respect to the simulation by the Finite Element Modeling (FEM) technique of Hertzian and non-Hertzian contact events, over sensor arrays of 10×10 taxels of different sizes. The hardware implementation was carried out on an MPSoC XCZU9EG-2FFVB1156 platform of Xilinx® that allows the reconstruction of force vectors following a scalable approach, from the information captured by means of tactile sensor arrays composed of up to 48 × 48 taxels that use various transduction technologies. The proposed implementation demonstrates a reduction in estimation time of x / 180 compared to software implementations. Despite the relatively high values of the estimation errors, the information provided by this implementation on the tangential and normal tractions and the triaxial reconstruction of forces allows to adequately reconstruct the tactile properties of the touched object, which are similar to those obtained in the software implementation and in the two FEM simulations taken as reference. Although errors could be reduced, the proposed implementation is useful for decoding contact forces for portable tactile sensing systems, thus helping to expand electronic skin applications in robotic and biomedical contexts. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=contact%20forces%20reconstruction" title="contact forces reconstruction">contact forces reconstruction</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=forces%20estimation" title=" forces estimation"> forces estimation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=tactile%20sensor%20array" title=" tactile sensor array"> tactile sensor array</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hardware%20implementation" title=" hardware implementation"> hardware implementation</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/140158/hardware-implementation-for-the-contact-force-reconstruction-in-tactile-sensor-arrays" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/140158.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">195</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">6</span> Rumen Epithelium Development of Bovine Fetuses and Newborn Calves</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Juliana%20Shimara%20Pires%20Ferr%C3%A3o">Juliana Shimara Pires Ferrão</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Let%C3%ADcia%20Palmeira%20Pinto"> Letícia Palmeira Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Francisco%20Palma%20Renn%C3%B3"> Francisco Palma Rennó</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Francisco%20Javier%20Hernandez%20Blazquez"> Francisco Javier Hernandez Blazquez</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The ruminant stomach is a complex and multi-chambered organ. Although the true stomach (abomasum) is fully differentiated and functional at birth, the same does not occur with the rumen chamber. At this moment, rumen papillae are small or nonexistent. The papillae only fully develop after weaning and during calf growth. Papillae development and ruminal epithelium specialization during the fetus growth and at birth must be two interdependent processes that will prepare the rumen to adapt to ruminant adult feeding. The microscopic study of rumen epithelium at these early phases of life is important to understand how this structure prepares the rumen to deal with the following weaning processes and its functional activation. Samples of ruminal mucosa of bovine fetuses (110- and 150 day-old) and newborn calves were collected (dorsal and ventral portions) and processed for light and electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The basal cell layer of the stratified pavimentous epithelium present in different ruminal portions of the fetuses was thicker than the same portions of newborn calves. The superficial and intermediate epithelial layers of 150 day-old fetuses were thicker than those found in the other 2 studied ages. At this age (150 days), dermal papillae begin to invade the intermediate epithelial layer which gradually disappears in newborn calves. At birth, the ruminal papillae project from the epithelial surface, probably by regression of the epithelial cells (transitory cells) surrounding the dermal papillae. The PCNA cell proliferation index (%) was calculated for all epithelial samples. Fetuses 150 day-old showed increased cell proliferation in basal cell layer (Dorsal Portion: 84.2%; Ventral Portion: 89.8%) compared to other ages studied. Newborn calves showed an intermediate index (Dorsal Portion: 65.1%; Ventral Portion: 48.9%), whereas 110 day-old fetuses had the lowest proliferation index (Dorsal Portion: 57.2%; Ventral Portion: 20.6%). Regarding the transitory epithelium, 110 day-old fetuses showed the lowest proliferation index (Dorsal Portion: 44.6%; Ventral Portion: 20.1%), 150 day-old fetuses showed an intermediate proliferation index (Dorsal Portion: 57.5%; Ventral Portion: 71.1%) and newborn calves presented a higher proliferation index (Dorsal Portion: 75.1%; Ventral Portion: 19.6%). Under TEM, the 110- and 150 day-old fetuses presented thicker and poorly organized basal cell layer, with large nuclei and dense cytoplasm. In newborn calves, the basal cell layer was more organized and with fewer layers, but typically similar in both regions of the rumen. For the transitory epithelium, fetuses displayed larger cells than those found in newborn calves with less electrondense cytoplasm than that found in the basal cells. The ruminal dorsal portion has an overall higher cell proliferation rate than the ventral portion. Thus we can infer that the dorsal portion may have a higher cell activity than the ventral portion during ruminal development. Moreover, the basal cell layer is thicker in the 110- and 150 day-old fetuses than in the newborn calves. The transitory epithelium, which is much reduced, at birth may have a structural support function of the developing dermal papillae. When it regresses or is sheared off, the papillae are “carved out” from the surrounding epithelial layer. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=bovine" title="bovine">bovine</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=calf" title=" calf"> calf</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=epithelium" title=" epithelium"> epithelium</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=fetus" title=" fetus"> fetus</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hematoxylin-eosin" title=" hematoxylin-eosin"> hematoxylin-eosin</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=immunohistochemistry" title=" immunohistochemistry"> immunohistochemistry</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=TEM" title=" TEM"> TEM</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rumen" title=" Rumen"> Rumen</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/51372/rumen-epithelium-development-of-bovine-fetuses-and-newborn-calves" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/51372.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">388</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">5</span> Role of Baseline Measurements in Assessing Air Quality Impact of Shale Gas Operations</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Paula%20Costa">Paula Costa</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ana%20Picado"> Ana Picado</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Filomena%20Pinto"> Filomena Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Justina%20Catarino"> Justina Catarino</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Environmental impact associated with large scale shale gas development is of major concern to the public, policy makers and other stakeholders. To assess this impact on the atmosphere, it is important to monitoring ambient air quality prior to and during all shale gas operation stages. Baseline observations can provide a standard of the pre-shale gas development state of the environment. The lack of baseline concentrations was identified as an important knowledge gap to assess the impact of emissions to the air due to shale gas operations. In fact baseline monitoring of air quality are missing in several regions, where there is a strong possibility of future shale gas exploration. This makes it difficult to properly identify, quantify and characterize environmental impacts that may be associated with shale gas development. The implementation of a baseline air monitoring program is imperative to be able to assess the total emissions related with shale gas operations. In fact, any monitoring programme should be designed to provide indicative information on background levels. A baseline air monitoring program should identify and characterize targeted air pollutants, most frequently described from monitoring and emission measurements, as well as those expected from hydraulic fracturing activities, and establish ambient air conditions prior to start-up of potential emission sources from shale gas operations. This program has to be planned for at least one year accounting for ambient variations. In the literature, in addition to GHG emissions of CH4, CO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOx), fugitive emissions from shale gas production can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). The VOCs include a.o., benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylenes, hexanes, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, styrene. The concentrations of six air pollutants (ozone, particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), and lead) whose regional ambient air levels are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are often discussed. However, the main concern in the emissions to air associated to shale gas operations, seems to be the leakage of methane. Methane is identified as a compound of major concern due to its strong global warming potential. The identification of methane leakage from shale gas activities is complex due to the existence of several other CH4 sources (e.g. landfill, agricultural activity or gas pipeline/compressor station). An integrated monitoring study of methane emissions may be a suitable mean of distinguishing the contribution of different sources of methane to ambient levels. All data analysis needs to be carefully interpreted taking, also, into account the meteorological conditions of the site. This may require the implementation of a more intensive monitoring programme. So, it is essential the development of a low-cost sampling strategy, suitable for establishing pre-operations baseline data as well as an integrated monitoring program to assess the emissions from shale gas operation sites. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 640715. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=air%20emissions" title="air emissions">air emissions</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=baseline" title=" baseline"> baseline</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=green%20house%20gases" title=" green house gases"> green house gases</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=shale%20gas" title=" shale gas"> shale gas</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/70103/role-of-baseline-measurements-in-assessing-air-quality-impact-of-shale-gas-operations" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/70103.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">330</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">4</span> Welfare and Sustainability in Beef Cattle Production on Tropical Pasture</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Andre%20Pastori%20D%27Aurea">Andre Pastori D'Aurea</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Lauriston%20Bertelli%20Feranades"> Lauriston Bertelli Feranades</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Luis%20Eduardo%20Ferreira"> Luis Eduardo Ferreira</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Leandro%20Dias%20Pinto"> Leandro Dias Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Fabiana%20Ayumi%20Shiozaki"> Fabiana Ayumi Shiozaki </a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The aim of this study was to improve the production of beef cattle on tropical pasture without harming this environment. On tropical pastures, cattle's live weight gain is lower than feedlot, and forage production is seasonable, changing from season to season. Thus, concerned with sustainable livestock production, the Premix Company has developed strategies to improve the production of beef cattle on tropical pasture to ensure sustainability of welfare and production. There are two important principles in this productivity system: 1) increase individual gains with use of better supplementation and 2) increase the productivity units with better forage quality like corn silage or other forms of forage conservations, actually used only in winter, and adding natural additives in the diet. This production system was applied from June 2017 to May 2018 in the Research Center of Premix Company, Patrocínio Paulista, São Paulo State, Brazil. The area used had 9 hectares of pasture of Brachiaria brizantha. 36 steers Nellore were evaluated for one year. The initial weight was 253 kg. The parameters used were daily average gain and gain per area. This indicated the corrections to be made and helped design future fertilization. In this case, we fertilized the pasture with 30 kg of nitrogen per animal divided into two parts. The diet was pasture and protein-energy supplements (0.4% of live weight). The supplement used was added with natural additive Fator P® – Premix Company). Fator P® is an additive composed by amino acids (lysine, methionine and tyrosine, 16400, 2980 and 3000 mg.kg-1 respectively), minerals, probiotics (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 7 x 10E8 CFU.kg-1) and essential fatty acids (linoleic and oleic acids, 108.9 and 99g.kg-1 respectively). Due to seasonal changes, in the winter we supplemented the diet by increasing the offer of forage, supplementing with maize silage. It was offered 1% of live weight in silage corn and 0.4% of the live weight in protein-energetic supplements with additive Fator P ®. At the end of the period, the productivity was calculated by summing the individual gains for the area used. The average daily gain of the animals were 693 grams per day and was produced 1.005 kg /hectare/year. This production is about 8 times higher than the average of Brazilian meat national production. To succeed in this project, it is necessary to increase the gains per area, so it is necessary to increase the capacity per area. Pasture management is very important to the project's success because the dietary decisions were taken from the quantity and quality of the forage. We, therefore, recommend the use of animals in the growth phase because the response to supplementation is greater in that phase and we can allocate more animals per area. This system's carbon footprint reduces emissions by 61.2 percent compared to the Brazilian average. This beef cattle production system can be efficient and environmentally friendly to the natural. Another point is that bovines will benefit from their natural environment without competing or having an impact on human food production. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cattle%20production" title="cattle production">cattle production</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=environment" title=" environment"> environment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=pasture" title=" pasture"> pasture</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sustainability" title=" sustainability"> sustainability</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/105899/welfare-and-sustainability-in-beef-cattle-production-on-tropical-pasture" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/105899.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">149</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">3</span> The Côa Valley Ecosystem (Douro, Portugal) as a Cultural Landscape. Approach to the Management Challenges</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mariana%20Durana%20Pinto">Mariana Durana Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Thierry%20Aubry"> Thierry Aubry</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Eduarda%20Vieira"> Eduarda Vieira</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The Côa River is one of the tributaries of the Douro River, which in turn connects two Portuguese regions: Beira-Alta (Serra das Mesas, Sabugal) and Trás-os-Montes (Douro River, Vila Nova de Foz Côa). The river, which is approximately 140 kilometres in length, is surrounded by characteristic Northern-Estearn Portugal landscape. The dominant flora in the region includes olive and almond trees and vines, which provide habitat for a diverse range of native species. These include mammals such as the lynx and Iberian wolf, as well as birds of prey such as the Egyptian vulture and the griffon vulture. Additionally, herbivorous species such as red deer and roe deer also inhabit the region. However, the Vale Côa is inextricably linked with the rocky outcrops bearing the emblematic open-air Upper Palaeolithic rock art, indeed, it houses the world's largest collection of prehistoric open-air rock art, inscribed on the World Heritage list by UNESCO in 1998. From the initial discovery of the first engravings in 1991 to the present day, approximally 1,500 panels with rock art, mostly engravings and carving, but also some paintings, have been discovered, inventoried and recorded spanning from earlu Upper Paleolithic to the 20th century. The study and interpretation of the engravings and its geoarchaeological context, allow the construction of a chronological timeline of the human occupation and graphical production in this region. The area has been inhabited since the Early Palaeolithic, with human communities exploiting the diversity of the natural resources of the environment and adapting it to their needs. This led to the creation of an archaeological and historical cultural landscape.The region is currently inhabited by rural communities whose primary source of income is derived from agricultural activities, with a particular focus on olive oil and wine production, including the emblematic Vinho do Porto. Additionally, the region is distinguished by activities such as stone exploration and extraction (e.g. schist and granite quarries) and tourism. The latter has progressively assumed a role in the promotion and development of the region, primarily due to the engravings of the Côa Valley itself, as well as the Alto Douro Wine Region. Furthermore, this cultural landscape has been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The aforementioned factors give rise to a series of challenges and issues pertaining to the management and safeguarding of rock art on a daily basis. These include: I) the management of conflicts between cultural heritage and economic activity (between Rock art and vineyards, both classified as World Heritage Sites); II) the management of land-use planning in areas where the engravings are located (since the areas with engravings are larger than those identified as buffer zones by UNESCO); III) the absence of the legal figure of an 'archaeological park' and the need to solve this issue; IV) the management of tourist pressure and unauthorised visits; and V) the management of vandalism (as a consequence of misinformation and denial). <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Douro%20and%20C%C3%B4a%20Valleys" title="Douro and Côa Valleys">Douro and Côa Valleys</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=archaeological%20cultural%20landscapes" title=" archaeological cultural landscapes"> archaeological cultural landscapes</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=rock%20art" title=" rock art"> rock art</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Douro%20wine" title=" Douro wine"> Douro wine</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=conservation%20challenges" title=" conservation challenges"> conservation challenges</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/193487/the-coa-valley-ecosystem-douro-portugal-as-a-cultural-landscape-approach-to-the-management-challenges" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/193487.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">10</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">2</span> Comparing Community Health Agents, Physicians and Nurses in Brazil's Family Health Strategy</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rahbel%20Rahman">Rahbel Rahman</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rog%C3%A9rio%20Meireles%20Pinto"> Rogério Meireles Pinto</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Margareth%20Santos%20Zanchetta"> Margareth Santos Zanchetta</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background: Existing shortcomings of current health-service delivery include poor teamwork, competencies that do not address consumer needs, and episodic rather than continuous care. Brazil’s Sistema Único de Saúde (Unified Health System, UHS) is acknowledged worldwide as a model for delivering community-based care through Estratégia Saúde da Família (FHS; Family Health Strategy) interdisciplinary teams, comprised of Community Health Agents (in Portuguese, Agentes Comunitário de Saude, ACS), nurses, and physicians. FHS teams are mandated to collectively offer clinical care, disease prevention services, vector control, health surveillance and social services. Our study compares medical providers (nurses and physicians) and community-based providers (ACS) on their perceptions of work environment, professional skills, cognitive capacities and job context. Global health administrators and policy makers can leverage on similarities and differences across care providers to develop interprofessional training for community-based primary care. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 168 ACS, 62 nurses and 32 physicians in Brazil. We compared providers’ demographic characteristics (age, race, and gender) and job context variables (caseload, work experience, work proximity to community, the length of commute, and familiarity with the community). Providers perceptions were compared to their work environment (work conditions and work resources), professional skills (consumer-input, interdisciplinary collaboration, efficacy of FHS teams, work-methods and decision-making autonomy), and cognitive capacities (knowledge and skills, skill variety, confidence and perseverance). Descriptive and bi-variate analysis, such as Pearson Chi-square and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) F-tests, were performed to draw comparisons across providers. Results: Majority of participants were ACS (64%); 24% nurses; and 12% physicians. Majority of nurses and ACS identified as mixed races (ACS, n=85; nurses, n=27); most physicians identified as males (n=16; 52%), and white (n=18; 58%). Physicians were less likely to incorporate consumer-input and demonstrated greater decision-making autonomy than nurses and ACS. ACS reported the highest levels of knowledge and skills but the least confidence compared to nurses and physicians. ACS, nurses, and physicians were efficacious that FHS teams improved the quality of health in their catchment areas, though nurses tend to disagree that interdisciplinary collaboration facilitated their work. Conclusion: To our knowledge, there has been no study comparing key demographic and cognitive variables across ACS, nurses and physicians in the context of their work environment and professional training. We suggest that global health systems can leverage upon the diverse perspectives of providers to implement a community-based primary care model grounded in interprofessional training. Our study underscores the need for in-service trainings to instill reflective skills of providers, improve communication skills of medical providers and curative skills of ACS. Greater autonomy needs to be extended to community based providers to offer care integral to addressing consumer and community needs. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=global%20health%20systems" title="global health systems">global health systems</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=interdisciplinary%20health%20teams" title=" interdisciplinary health teams"> interdisciplinary health teams</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=community%20health%20agents" title=" community health agents"> community health agents</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=community-based%20care" title=" community-based care"> community-based care</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/64406/comparing-community-health-agents-physicians-and-nurses-in-brazils-family-health-strategy" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a 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