Browsing by Author "Carvalho, C."
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- Impact of music intervention on psychological and physiological parameters of patients undergoing myocardial perfusion scintigraphyPublication . Vieira, Lina Oliveira; Rotaru, A.; Rodrigues, I.; Martins, A.; Carvalho, C.; Alvernaz, A.; Oliveira, L.; Grilo, Ana; Raminhas Carapinha, Maria JoãoAim/Introduction: Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy (MPS), a well-established imaging procedure for diagnosing ischemic heart disease, has multiple phases that can induce patients’ anxiety, discomfort, and dissatisfaction. Several non-pharmacological strategies have been used to alleviate anxiety and improve patient comfort and satisfaction, such as music intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of musical intervention in the outcomes of patients undergoing MPS. Materials and Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on patients undergoing an MPS one-day protocol stress-rest, in a Nuclear Medicine Department between January 15, and March 18, 2024. Patients were divided into a control group (CG) and an experimental group (EG). In the EG, a musical intervention was performed during the rest image acquisition, allowing patients to choose from a selection of musical tracks curated by a music lecturer. Anxiety levels were assessed at four different moments in both groups: before and after the stress image acquisition (T1 and T2), and before and after the rest image acquisition (T3 and T4), using physiological parameters at all times and psychological parameters for CG at T1 and T4 and for EG at T1, T3 and T4. Image quality analysis was performed using measures of contrast, noise, number, and amplitude of patients' movements. All studies were reviewed by two researchers and evaluated by three nuclear medicine technologists. Results: The sample comprised 30 participants with an average age of 71±11.02yrs [45-87yrs] with 15 participants enrolled in each group. Patients in EG reduced their anxiety scores from 36±9.44 at T1 to 33±7.07 at T3 and 28±9.11 at T4, while patients in CG reduced their anxiety scores from 39±10.62 at T1 to 33±9.66 at T4. Regarding patient motion, there was a reduction from the CG to EG in movements between 1-2 pixels (CG = 21, EG= 19) and movements higher than 2 pixels (CG =19, EG=6). In some myocardial walls on the three tomographic slices, the correlation between psychological parameters and image noise was lower in T4 for the EG. No significant results were found in image contrast. Conclusion: For the EG, the image noise was ~3% lower than in CG. Anxiety decreased throughout the MPS procedure with lower values at T4 for the EG. Additionally, the musical intervention seems to be effective as the EG showed lower values of patient movement.
- Literacia, ensino da leitura e sucesso escolarPublication . Barros, C. G. Paes de; Sousa, Otília; Carvalho, C.Nas últimas décadas, tem se observado uma crescente demanda pelo domínio da linguagem escrita em todas as áreas da vida social (Olson 2009). Essa demanda não se limita apenas ao contexto brasileiro, mas refere-se a um contexto mundial, que hoje coloca o domínio das diversas capacidades de linguagem, em especial das capacidades de leitura e escrita, como condição para acesso ao conhecimento, à participação social e o exercício efetivo da cidadania. O domínio de tais capacidades refere-se a um certo tipo ou nível de literacia que vai além da descodificação, diz respeito às diversas capacidades de leitura e escrita necessárias em diferentes práticas sociais. Partindo de uma parceria de investigação entre instituições de ensino superior em Portugal e no Brasil, temos vindo a reflectir sobre questões de currículo nos dois países.
- Registador de dados para aplicações de baixo consumoPublication . Casaleiro, João; Rocha, J.; Reis, R.; Pinto, A.; Oliveira, T.; Gomes, M.; Fazenda, P.; Costa, V.; Carvalho, C.Este artigo descreve uma arquitectura de um registador de dados para aplicações de baixo consumo. São apresentados resultados experimentais sobre o desempenho do oscilador, que é um dos módulos do registador. São ainda apresentadas estimativas do consumo do registador e dos respectivos módulos. A autonomia e a estabilidade são os critérios de projecto mais relevantes de um registador de dados para aplicações de baixo consumo que exijam precisão temporal, por exemplo a sismologia oceânica.
- Start-up circuit for low-power indoor light energy harvesting applicationsPublication . Carvalho, C.; Paulino, N.A start-up circuit, used in a micro-power indoor light energy harvesting system, is described. This start-up circuit achieves two goals: first, to produce a reset signal, power-on-reset (POR), for the energy harvesting system, and secondly, to temporarily shunt the output of the photovoltaic (PV) cells, to the output node of the system, which is connected to a capacitor. This capacitor is charged to a suitable value, so that a voltage step-up converter starts operating, thus increasing the output voltage to a larger value than the one provided by the PV cells. A prototype of the circuit was manufactured in a 130 nm CMOS technology, occupying an area of only 0.019 mm(2). Experimental results demonstrate the correct operation of the circuit, being able to correctly start-up the system, even when having an input as low as 390 mV using, in this case, an estimated energy of only 5.3 pJ to produce the start-up.