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Increasing demand of mobile applications for on-site data acquisition pushes the development of flexible and easy to use mobile tools, with great advantages over the traditional computer-based approaches. The Accept System from SINMETRO allows data gathering for quality control, in the form of Inspection sheets. Such tool allows quality assurance by monitoring some samples of a given material, for instance milk, wine, and even maintenance management.
This paper presents a mobile application in the Accept System that allows a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device to perform data gathering based on XML Inspection templates. Using .NET Compact Framework through C#, and database the technologies SQL Server and SQL Server CE, we developed Accept Mobile.
Accept Mobile uses the Remote Data Access (RDA) mechanism to send data over to the server through a synchronization service, while also providing the needed support for disconnected operation. We prove that the mobile application is very convenient and provides enough functionality for the user to dismiss the portable computer, although the main application was never developed with mobility concerns in mind.
“Copyright © [2008] IEEE. Reprinted from 12th Annual IEEE International Symposium on Consumer Electronics (ISCE 2008). ISBN:978-1-4244-2422-1. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.”
This paper describes the implementation and the technical specifications of a geolocation database assisted by a spectrum-monitoring outdoor network. The geolocation database is populated according to Electronic
Communications Committee (ECC) report 186 methodology. The application programming interface (API) between the sensor network and the geolocation database implements an effective and secure connection to successfully gather sensing data and sends it to the geolocation database for post-processing. On the other hand, the testbed allows authorized TV white space devices to gain access to the services of the geolocation database, according to a draft implementation of Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Protocol to Access White Space (PAWS) Two experimental methodologies are available with the testbed: one focused on coexistence studies with commercial wireless microphones, when the testbed is used for sensing only, and another for demonstration purposes, when the testbed is also used to emulate wireless microphone signals. Overall, this hybrid approach is a promising solution for the effective use of TV white spaces and for the coexistence with digital TV broadcast signals, or dynamic incumbent systems, such as unregistered wireless microphones.
Nitrogen efficient use is important for economic and environmental sustainability of cropping
systems. Three examples of fertilization practices considered to be able to contribute to the
improvement of N use efficiency are: the use of a waste with higher C/N ratio, such as pulp mill
sludge (Kirchmann and Bergström, 2003), specific application time and/or split application of
nitrogen fertilizers (Roberts, 2008) and the use of nitrification inhibitors, such as the DCD (Zaman
and Blennerhassett, 2010). In present study a field experiment was carried out from May 2006 to
May 2008, in central Portugal, to evaluate agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (AE) and apparent
N recovery efficiency (ARE), when different organic wastes (cattle slurry, sewage sludge and
urban waste compost) were used as N sources in a double-cropping system producing maize and
oats forage. The use of a nitrification inhibitor (DCD), the splitting application of residues and the
use of an organic residue with high C/N ratio (pulp mill sludge) were evaluated as management
practices that could improve N use efficiency.
Apresenta um estudo dendrométrico baseado na aplicação do método de análise do tronco em povoamentos de Pinus pinaster pertencentes a alguns concelhos do distrito de Castelo Branco. É uma abordagem preliminar integrada num projeto em curso na ESA-IPCB sobre "Estudos de Crescimento de e Produção em Povoamentos de Pinus pinaster na Região da Beira Interior".
“Copyright © [2012] IEEE. Reprinted from ICT Future Network & Mobile Summit 2012. ISBN: 978-1-4673-0320-0.
This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.”
The study was initiated because one of the authors had a child in the family with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The author was concerned about what could be done to improve the quality of life of this child. The hypotheses explored whether hydrotherapy could bring any relief or advantage in functional mobility to an individual with DMD and whether a water environment facilitates mobility, pleasure, and joy for a young child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Our sample had three individuals, all of them boys, 9-11 years of age. Two were the control group and didn’t practice any kind of physical activity and the other one was our two-year longitudinal case study during which he experienced hydrotherapy practice two times a week for forty-five minutes each. We applied the Egen Klassifikation (EK) scale to quantify the degree of movement limitation present at each of five measurement points over the two years. The variables analyzed were the physical activity issues and the EK scale values. The descriptive results showed that all three individuals increased their EK scale values over time, showing the inevitable progression of the disease. The individual who participated in the water activity sessions had the slower increase that we inferred, meant less deterioration in functional movement. No inferences can be drawn from these limited data, especially because only one individual experienced the water activities. This study does provide the impetus for subsequent, larger controlled studies to see if they could replicate these initial case study results.
This paper deals with an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based uplink within a Multi User (MU)-Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system where a ”massive MIMO” approach” is adopted. In this context, either an optimum Minimum Mean-Squared Error (MMSE) linear detection or a reduced-complexity Matched Filter (MF) linear detection are considered. Regarding performance evaluation by simulation, several semi-analytical methods are proposed: one performance evaluation method in the optimum (MMSE) case; two performance evaluation methods in the MF case. This paper includes performance results for uncoded 4-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)/OFDM transmission and a MUMIMO channel with uncorrelated Rayleigh fading, under the assumptions of perfect power control and perfect channel estimation. The accuracy of performance results obtained through the semi-analytical simulation methods is assessed by means of parallel conventional Monte Carlo simulations [10]. The performance resultsare discussed indetail andwe also emphasize the achievable ”massive MIMO” effects, even for the reducedcomplexity detection techniques, provided that the number of BS antennas is much higher than the number of antennas which are jointly employed in the terminals of the multiple autonomous users.
“© © 2006 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.”
The conjugation of small nodes with sensing, communication and processing capabilities allows for the creation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). These networks can be deployed to measure a very wide range of environmental phenomena and send data from remote locations back to users. They offer new and exciting possibilities for applications and research. This paper presents the background of WSNs by firstly exploring the different fields applications, with examples for each of these fields, then the challenges faced by these networks in areas such as energy-efficiency, node localization, node deployment, limited storage and routing. It aims at explaining each issue and giving solutions that have been proposed in the research literature. Finally, the paper proposes a practical scenario of deploying a WSN by autonomous robot path construction. The requirements for such a scenario and the open issues that can be tackled by it are exposed, namely the issues of associated with measuring RSSI, the degree of autonomy of the robot and connectivity restoration.
This paper attempts to shed light on the current role of academia in the context of rural areas of low population density, which are regional interaction models. In this study, we follow a qualitative research methodology of a case study.We found that through the case study applied to a hotel unit, that the Academia can through its third mission, and in the context of regional triple helix dynamics (Academia-Business-government interaction), play an important role in terms of knowledge dissemination, wealth creation and employability. The limitations, which our study presents, are principally related to the measurement of the variables. Some of the characteristics of education should be studied more deeply. In the instance of a case study applied to the hospitality industry, it is important to take as limitations of the study to its direct application to any economic context. This study allowed however, contribute to the enrichment of literature through case studies presented int he hospitality industry.
More and more, the modern citizen resorts to access to information for his professional activity, social activity or leisure. For this, is essential the use of devices with computational power, such as smartphones. The tourism sector is a sector of great social and economic importance and is one of the sectors where there has been a growth in the use of mobile applications to support several activities. In this sector, mobile applications can be useful for tourists in general, but also for those who have some kind of disability or restriction. For these, mobile applications can help to obtain the information and recommendation of points of interest that are in accordance with their interests and are suitable to their restrictions. This paper describes the development of a mobile application for presentation and personalized recommendation of points of interest for inclusive tourism. The goal is an application to run on smartphone with Android OS able to provide the user with information compatible with their own profile. This application stands out by allowing an automatic filtering of information, considering the location and profile of the user, and providing him with more personalized information, relevant and appropriate to his situation, and thus contributing to a better inclusion. This paper describes the most relevant aspects of the development of the application.
This paper presents two methodologies for the design and development of new products called Design-with-
IoT (DwIoT) that aims to integrate IoT technology into products, focusing on a set of guidelines for its
implementation, and the concept of Design-for-Automation (DFA), important in the development of new automation oriented products in an industry 4.0 context.
Outdoor pig production (OPP) can be considered an intensive system in many areas of the
Mediterranean region. The concentration of the rainfall in the winter season, the OPP’s topographic
and soil properties, together with the continuous input of food and pigs’ excreta, contribute to a
profound increase in the nutrients leaching and soil erosion. This work aimed to evaluate the accuracy
of the DRASTIC-LU index and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to provide early
information to improve the planning of this type of pig production through more adequate location
and sustainable management practices. The two models were applied to an OPP with 2.24 ha, with
a heavy animal charge (one adult per 1.120 m2
). The results showed that 85% of the OPP area has
a moderate risk to the vulnerability index to groundwater pollution and 15% high risk. The risk
of soil erosion ranged from very severe to extremely severe in 96% of the area. The DRASTIC-LU
indexes and the RUSLE model produce a multi-risk assessment that agreed with the observed field
data. These two models showed accuracy to be used for early assessment when choosing the best
location and improving management practices for OPP systems.
Within the scope of precision agriculture, many applications have been developed to support decision making and yield enhancement. Fruit detection has attracted considerable attention from researchers, and it can be used offline. In contrast, some applications, such as robot vision in orchards, require computer vision models to run on edge devices while performing inferences at high speed. In this area, most modern applications use an integrated graphics processing unit (GPU). In this work, we propose the use of a tensor processing unit (TPU) accelerator with a Raspberry Pi target device and the state-of-the-art, lightweight, and hardware-aware MobileDet detector model. Our contribution is the extension of the possibilities of using accelerators (the TPU) for edge devices in precision agriculture. The proposed method was evaluated using a novel dataset of peaches with three cultivars, which will be made available for further studies. The model achieved an average precision (AP) of 88.2% and a performance of 19.84 frames per second (FPS) at an image size of 640 × 480. The results obtained show that the TPU accelerator can be an excellent alternative for processing on the edge in precision agriculture.
Este artigo visa fazer uma contextualização do conceito de Internet das Coisas (IoT), uma nova abordagem que resulta da dinamização da multipluralidade de plataformas passíveis de interligar e com os quais é possível estabelecer comunicação em rede. Estas afetam, cada vez mais, a qualidade de vida dos seus utilizadores e acabam por ter uma repercussão quotidiana na forma como estes extraem informação no meio envolvente, muitas vezes de forma invisível. No curso deste documento, também será feita uma exposição dos dispositivos de suporte que lhe estão associados, desde os microcontroladores que os operam, até aos sensores e/ou outros dispositivos, que não são mais que ferramentas que recolhem e comunicam a informação.
Background
Fire blight is a destructive disease of pome trees, caused by Erwinia amylovora, leading to high losses of chain-of-values fruits. Major outbreaks were registered between 2010 and 2017 in Portugal, and the first molecular epidemiological characterization of those isolates disclosed a clonal population with different levels of virulence and susceptibility to antimicrobial peptides.
Methods
This work aimed to further disclose the genetic characterization and unveil the phenotypic diversity of this E. amylovora population, resorting to MLSA, growth kinetics, biochemical characterization, and antibiotic susceptibility.
Results
While MLSA further confirmed the genetic clonality of those isolates, several phenotypic differences were recorded regarding their growth, carbon sources preferences, and chemical susceptibility to several antibiotics, disclosing a heterogeneous population. Principal component analysis regarding the phenotypic traits allows to separate the strains Ea 630 and Ea 680 from the remaining.
Discussion
Regardless the genetic clonality of these E. amylovora strains isolated from fire blight outbreaks, the phenotypic characterization evidenced a population diversity beyond the genotype clonality inferred by MLSA and CRISPR, suggesting that distinct sources or environmental adaptations of this pathogen may have occurred.
Conclusion
Attending the characteristic clonality of E. amylovora species, the data gathered here emphasizes the importance of phenotypic assessment of E. amylovora isolates to better understand their epidemiological behavior, namely by improving source tracking, make risk assessment analysis, and determine strain-specific environmental adaptations, that might ultimately lead to prevent new outbreaks.
When urban waste is not separately collected its phosphorus content cannot be recovered. The production of phosphorus-based fertilisers from urban waste could generate phosphorus added-value products, reduce environmental impacts from waste disposal and lower the consumption of virgin raw materials in the fertiliser industry. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the short-term agronomic value of a phosphorus fertiliser, which has the same chemical composition and mineralogical structure as struvite, but is artificially produced using phosphorus recovered from the anaerobically digested organic fraction of municipal solid waste (herein referred to as “secondary struvite”). To evaluate the release of phosphorus forms over time a 30 d incubation experiment was performed. Then the cultivation of rye (Secale cereale L.) was done in pot scale during 45 d to assess the phosphorus phytoavailability and the agronomic potential of secondary struvite, when compared with the commercial mineral fertiliser, single superphosphate. This work contributes to fill a knowledge gap about the effects of this secondary struvite as a source of phosphorus on soil phosphorus forms as well as on phosphorus’ soil and plant availability.
At the end of the incubation experiment, a similar distribution of phosphorus forms in soil for both secondary struvite and single superphosphate was observed; however, the soil Olsen phosphorus was significantly higher in the soils fertilised using secondary struvite than in those fertilised by single superphosphate, which indicates that secondary struvite provided a higher amount of immediately phytoavailable phosphorus.
The shoot biomass production (1.7 g dry-matter kg−1 soil) and the agronomic efficiency (66 g dry-matter g−1 phosphorus) were similar for both fertilisers. But the crop's phosphorus uptake and the apparent phosphorus recovery were higher (5.9 mg phosphorus kg−1 soil and 45%) in the secondary struvite treatment than in the single superphosphate treatment (4.7 mg phosphorus kg−1 soil and 36%). The results suggest that the secondary struvite can be used as a phosphorus fertiliser and lower rates of the secondary struvite are required to achieve the same agronomic efficiency as the single superphosphate.
1º vol.: Aterogénese / J. L. David. -34 p.
Actual perspectives of the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) abandon positivists views and bring into relief a more humanized idea of science which is socially and culturally involved. The main difficulty when transposing the post-positivist ideas from the scope of HPS to science education centers on the lack of a proper education of the teachers (Matthews, 1994). The hypothesis of this study was that it is possible to design a teacher education program (TEP) based on HPS in order to improve the teaching of scientific topics. A TEP was developed following three interrelated phases: a naturalistic study was conducted throughout the teaching of a selected scientific topic by each of the participating teachers (two Geology teachers and two Chemistry teachers with the topics Continental Drift and Mass Conservation); a structured TEP based on each of the scientific topics which were considered to be epistemologically relevant and, in the third phase, teaching practices were implemented-and-evaluated which resulted from the education in HPS, acquired by the teachers as they carried out the necessary didactics transpositions on the selected topic. The instrument of teaching practices analysis considered the following categories: Scientific Methodology, Dynamics of Scientific Knowledge Construction, Human and Social Face of Science. Globally, the results suggests that the proposed model of teacher education is more in line with science education goals. After the TEP the images transmitted by the teachers can be considered closer to the framework of HPS.
For 5 months, the udders of milking ewes, raw ewe’s milk, cheese, and the plant and environment of a cheese
manufacturer in Portugal were investigated using standard methods for the presence of Listeria spp. An association between subclinical mastitis and Listeria monocytogenes in a single lactating sheep was investigated by
visual inspection of udders for signs of inflammation, application of somatic cell counts, the California mastitis
test, pH measurement to milk, and culture of L. monocytogenes and Staphylococcus spp. To track the routes of
contamination by L. monocytogenes, 103 isolates were characterized by molecular serotyping and amplified
fragment length polymorphism, and a selection was further tested by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. This study
provides molecular and epidemiological evidence tracking the persistence of a single L. monocytogenes strain
causing a subclinical udder infection without obvious inflammation in a single ewe. This infection was the
likely source of contamination of raw milk that was subsequently used to produce unpasteurised milk cheese
and resulted in a single strain of this bacterium colonizing the processing environment and the final cheese
product.
Tese de Doutoramento apresentada à Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos y Montes da Universidad de Córdoba.
For conventional cyclic prefix (CP)-assisted single-carrier/frequency-domain equalization (SC/FDE) implementations, as well as for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) implementations, the CP length is known to be selected on the basis of the expected maximum delay spread. Next, the data block size can be chosen to be large enough to minimize the CP overhead, yet small enough to make the channel variation over the block negligible. This paper considers the possibility of reducing the overall CP assistance, when transmitting sequences of SC blocks, while avoiding an excessively long fast Fourier transform window for FDE purposes and keeping good FDE performances through low-complexity, noniterative receiver techniques. These techniques, which take advantage of specially designed frame structures, rely on a basic algorithm for decision-directed correction (DDC) of the FDE inputs when the CP is not long enough to cope with the time-dispersive channel effects. More specifically, we present and evaluate a novel class of reduced-CP SC/FDE schemes, which takes advantage of a special frame structure for replacing "useless" CP redundancy by fully useful channel coding redundancy, with the help of the DDC algorithm. When using the DDC-FDE technique with these especially designed frame structures, the impact of previous decisions, which are not error-free, is shown to be rather small, thereby allowing a power-efficiency advantage (in addition to the obvious bandwidth-efficiency advantage) over conventional block transmission implementations under full-length CP. Additionally, the DDC algorithm is also shown to be useful to improve the power efficiency of these conventional implementations.
The original
publication is available at/A publicação original encntra-se disponível em: www.afs-journal.org
It is a fact that the world is aging and the developed countries are the most affected by this reality. In consequence, the majority of the population comprehends elderly people. The present knowledge society is characterized by technologies, digital devices and by the so called ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and most present-day activities uses those devices. Recently, several expressions and services have introduced the ‘e’ and it is common to talk about e-commerce, e-learning, e-banking, e-government, e-Health… it means that citizens must be digitally literate to deal with and use those services as a routine of their everyday life. However there are a large number of people who have not the necessary digital skills and consequently they become info-excluded. The group of the info-excluded is represented by women, people with a low level of literacy, the unemployed, and the elderly. Being sure that the elderly will constitute in the future (and in the present) the greater percentage of the citizens it is urgent to promote initiatives in order to train those citizens in ICT. The European Union already felt that need and therefore several action plans were launched (e.g. The Riga Declaration; i2010 e-Inclusion Initiative). Is it consensual that ICT will promote a better quality of life so the elderly will benefit from it in order to promote an adequate active aging. It is the aim of this article to discuss the main initiatives carried on and present the main obstacles, advantages, and some clues for the near future for the use of ICT by elderly people.
Technology is a valuable tool in education both to increase access to knowledge and to promote
learning. On the one hand, the ability of ICTs to centralize and organize large amounts of knowledge
and, on the other hand, the students' familiarization with information networks and the internet, aims to
interconnect students in networks and learning communities. Much has been studied about how
spaces should be designed to enhance this type of learning. New learning environments are being
built from scratch, others are simply altered or reformulated to respond to changes in pedagogical
styles to incorporate ICT. In an age where the real and the virtual coexist, the learning spaces must be
designed and adapted to concretize these realities. In this study I will present the main premises that
should support the construction or transformation of several specific Learning Spaces to make
possible the existence of two worlds, the real and the virtual. In this context, we propose three new
variables that parallel technology will play a key role in the future learning space, (i) Time, (ii) Space,
(iii) Activity. If we consider that the occupation of a Learning Space implies available time and if
learning is not fixed by time or place, we find that the learning space needs a conjugation between
space and time. Higher Education Institutions have to be more efficient in the use of time, where
different times may have different learning experiences with different conjugations. Effective learning
involves Time, Space and Activity that is developed within it, which distinguishes it from other spaces.
A new experiment is suggested using those new variables to elucidate the construction of High Quality
Learning Environments.
Wildfires are a major environmental issue that have an impact on land degradation. Remote
sensing spectral indices provide valuable information for short-term mitigation and rehabilitation
after wildfires. A study area in the Centre inland of Portugal occupied with Maritime pine and
Eucalypts forests and affected by wildfires in 2003, 2017 and 2020 was used. The aims of the study
were twofold: (1) to compute the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and with forest
inventory data derivate a Maritime pine production model, differentiate evergreen coniferous forests
(e.g., Maritime pine), evergreen broadleaved forests (e.g., Eucalypts), and shrubland, and monitor
vegetation and its post-fire recovery; and (2) to compute the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) difference
between pre-fire and post-fire dates for burn severity levels assessment. The plots of a previous forest
inventory were used to follow the NDVI values in 2007 and from 2020 to 2022. An aerial coverage
in 2007 and the Sentinel-2 imagery in 2020–2022 were used. Linear models fitted maritime pine
production with the transformed NDVI by age, showing a fitting efficiency of 60%. The stratification
of cover types by stand development stage and fire occurrence was possible using the NDVI time
curve, which also showed the impact of fire and of low precipitation. Cover types were ranked by
decreasing NDVI values as follows: mature Eucalypts plantations, young Maritime pine regeneration,
mature Maritime pine, young Eucalypts plantations, Strawberry tree shrubland, Eucalypts plantations
post-fire, Maritime pine post-fire, tall shrubland, and short shrubland. Vegetation post-fire recovery
was lower in higher burn severity level areas. Maritime pine areas have lost their natural regeneration
capability due to the wildfires’ short cycles. Spectral indices were effective tools to differentiate cover
types and assist in the evaluation of forest and shrubland conditions.
The use of numerical modelling tools allows optimizing the development of complex anatomical artefacts, such as customized prostheses for lower limb amputees. These numerical tools make it possible to characterize the interfacial interactions taking place between different parts of the prosthesis and the residual limb. This allows for understanding which rectifications and fittings having to be made on the custom design of the artificial body part without the need for manufacturing and donning prostheses. To such end, current research focused on the development of a preliminary Finite Element Model to assess the effects of friction on the residual limb of a transfemoral amputee, as the friction on the contact between the soft tissues, the liner and the prosthesis of the amputee is of major importance for his/her health and comfort.
In recent years, there has been enormous research interest in natural resources monitoring. So, there is a need to develop easily accessible, cheap and reliable information systems for monitoring and early warning, which could be used in most natural resources. This paper presents an ongoing information system development that aims the monitoring and supervising of some parameters on water supply, such as quality and quantity. To implement our system we use several technologies in order to monitoring about 100 water tanks in an area of ±1000 Km2. In these technologies is included GSM communication, web infrastructure and sensing equipment that allows the access of information from any place of the world. In paper sections the main blocks of the system architecture are described in detail.
Recent years have seen an increasing realization of the importance and potential of accessible tourism. To support it, the ICT industries have provided many different applications, especially for mobile computing frameworks. An analysis of these applications allows us to identify some issues that are not yet fully addressed. These include the absence of collaborative features; the lack of involvement of all stakeholders; the inexistence of synergies; the lack of widely accessible geographic databases and the limited scope of focus within the disability range. To tackle some of these issues, we propose a common framework for development of tourism accessible related applications. This framework stores and manages tourism information and makes this information available to be used by mobile applications developers through specific web services. This approach can represent an important contribution to accessible tourism, by decreasing the cost and facilitating the development of new applications supporting new products and services.
Ecotourism can contribute to the conservation of environmental values, as well as to the development of positive synergies between agents in the tourism sector, tourists, and the local population. The growing interest in tourist offers with low environmental impact, which supports the local economy, translates into a competitive advantage for low-density territories. Based on this principle, within the scope of the present study, it is intended to evaluate the potential of the existing natural and rural features in the Beira Baixa region, located on the Center interior of Portugal, that can anchor the creation of sustainable tourism products. Despite the undeniable interest in carrying out studies to determine an aggregate suitability index for the development of ecotourism using Spatial Multi-criteria Decision Analysis, there are still no studies carried out in Portugal. The identification of areas suitable for the development of ecotourism, and their constraints, was carried out based on the integration of nine criteria using the Analytic Hierarchy Process in a Geographical Information System environment. The results obtained reveal that the region has high suitability for the practice of ecotourism activities, given the important natural heritage. This study was innovative to show the ecotourism potential based on a diversity of criteria as an aid to public administration agents with functions in planning, territorial management, and management of support mechanisms for the tourist sector. The use of the landscape diversity criteria, which had not yet been tested in previous studies, proved to be important in determining the ecotourism potential of the region, together with the landscape value based in the importance of the Montado agrosystem, that supports a variety of sustainable tourist activities. The information produced in the study may be useful for the design of new policies for valuing natural resources through tourism.
It is generally agreed that the choice of the most suitable uses based in soil and climatic factors, complemented with socio-economic criteria, promotes sustainable use of rural land. There are, however, different methodologies for defining soil suitability to agroforestal systems or natural and seminatural ecosystems, including agricultural uses, forest plantations, agroforestry areas and priority areas for conservation. Many of these methods rely on decision support systems based on multicriteria spatial analysis. In this study it was intended to determine the different levels of suitability for the most representative forest species in the central region of Portugal. For that purpose a set of climatic, soil and topographic variables based in a geographic information system, soil and biogeographic mapping were used. A stochastic approach was undertaken in order to estimate several bioclimatic indices and the associated spatial uncertainty. Results were duly discussed and addressed in this framework. In the end, forest species suitability evaluation was performed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), methodology that allows the exploitation of natural fitness of the territory, contributing to a reflection on the adequacy of current and future occupations face the carrying capacity of the environment. The use of this methodology will be important as a supporting tool to public administration agents that work in forestry planning and management.
A column experiment at a laboratory level was carried out to assess the effect of the
application of nanotechnology in the decontamination of soils and alluvial deposits with high levels
of potentially toxic elements (PTEs). A suspension of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) was
injected at three different concentrations in selected samples (two sediments, one soil). For most of the
elements, the retention by nZVI was proportional to the concentration of the suspension and the trend
was similar. Metals were immobilized by adsorption on the surface layer of the nanoparticles and/or
by complexation, co-precipitation, and chemical reduction. By day 60 following injection, the nZVI
lost reactivity and the retained species were desorbed and back into the soluble phase. The definition
of spatial patterns for PTEs’ distribution allowed for the construction of contamination risk maps
using a geostatistical simulation approach. The analysis obtained from the extractable contents of five
target elements (Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, As) was cross-checked with the estimated map network to assess
their retention efficiency. Data from the analysis of these elements, in the extractable phase and in the
porewater of the sediments/soils, indicate the nZVI injection as a suitable technique for reducing the
risk level of PTEs in contaminated Fe-rich tropical environments.
Este estudio busca concienciar al profesorado, que desarrolla su labor docente en un contexto social y cultural desfavorecido, sobre las posibilidades que ofrece la construcción de un mapa visual de su entorno. A fin de establecer conexiones de una manera expresiva y colaborativa, se llevó a cabo un taller en una escuela de primaria con alumnado de quinto curso perteneciente al barrio Nou Llevant-Soledat Sud de Palma (Islas Baleares, España). A través del mapeo narrativo como técnica analítica, los y las escolares construyeron un nuevo lenguaje, una red (su red) analógica de información. La creación de mapas ha reforzado el mensaje de intersección y fomentado nuevos comportamientos.
La aproximación de diferentes universos a través de dibujos llevados a cabo por el alumnado nos ha permitido la creación de narrativas y consecuentes mapas mentales. Los resultados informan sobre la importancia que tiene la representación cartografía como herramienta de aprendizaje y sensibilización educativa. Asimismo, permite un proceso creativo en un intento de aliviar la carga cognitiva de la realidad del barrio y hace de la información resultante un “filtrado” más amable.
Introduction: The peculiarities of each individual with mental disorders concerns a challenge to their intervention in group, however this might be the answer to a development of adaptive and social behavior.
Objectives: Assess cognitive development, improvement of physical performance and group interaction, and progress of behavioral development and communication, in individuals with mental disorders who underwent the group intervention.
Methods: Prior to the beginning of the sessions there was an initial evaluation of 6 institutionalized adults with Intellectual Disabilities, using three assessment instruments, including the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Modified Physical Performance Test (MPPT) and Behavioral Observation Protocol (BOP). This data, allowed an awareness of the key needs to meet in the 20 intervention sessions performed. Subsequently, there was a similar final evaluation.
Results: The results showed further progress in the behavioral field, with an average upgrading of the score in BOP of 26.33, followed by an average score increase 3.83 in MPPT and 2.83 in MMSE.
Conclusions: The cognitive level developments centered on orientation, memory, and naming. The data given by MPPT relate to an increase of the speed the tasks are carried, and not the reach of new physical abilities. However, the most significant improvements were represented mainly in the ability of communication and understanding, which are reflected in the interaction of individuals in different situations, with different objects and people.
The main objective of this study is to identify the structure/landscape measures having a greater influence on the presence of avian species in two types of agrossystems located in the South of Portugal. Four line transects were defined. Two were located in holm oak and cork oak “Montado" near Évora and the other in a pineyard located in the Setúbal Peninsula (Apostiça). Several variables were measured to describe the vegetation as a habitat. The linear transect technique was used in the bird sampling. Multivariate statistics were used to analyse the relation between the presence/absence of avian communities and the different vegetation cover measures. These include vegetation vertical structure and percentage of vegetation cover types. The relation between avian diversity and vegetation structure descriptors, as well as the vegetation diversity, was analysed using simple regression methods. The bird communities seem to respond to the above mentioned structural differences. Moreover, the diversity of these communities is related to the percent cover of shrub and tree layers.
Precision irrigation and optimization of water use have become essential factors in agricul- ture because water is critical for crop growth. The proper management of an irrigation system should enable the farmer to use water efficiently to increase productivity, reduce production costs, and maxi- mize the return on investment. Efficient water application techniques are essential prerequisites for sustainable agricultural development based on the conservation of water resources and preservation of the environment. In a previous work, an off-policy deep reinforcement learning model, Deep Q-Network, was implemented to optimize irrigation. The performance of the model was tested for tomato crop at a site in Portugal. In this paper, an on-policy model, Advantage Actor–Critic, is implemented to compare irrigation scheduling with Deep Q-Network for the same tomato crop. The results show that the on-policy model Advantage Actor–Critic reduced water consumption by 20% compared to Deep Q-Network with a slight change in the net reward. These models can be developed to be applied to other cultures with high production in Portugal, such as fruit, cereals, and wine, which also have large water requirements.
This study aims at assessing stakeholder perceptions regarding the suitability of smart/intelligent specialisation strategies defined for their framework regions. We adopted a quantitative methodology through questionnaire surveys of the different stakeholders in Portuguese regions in keeping with the VRIO model applied to the regions. The study results emphasise that stakeholder perceptions of the appropriateness of the smart specialisation strategies defined for their framework regions does not coincide with the intelligent specialisation strategies defined by their policy makers. This study attempts to contribute to an innovative framework which helps policy-makers assessing and measuring the regional performance. The study furthermore proposes measures to bridge the gaps found in the regional smart specialisation strategies.
1º v. : Caracterização dos processos de desertificação e tipologia das zonas afectadas. -185 p. -2º v. : Os agentes locais e os processos de desenvolvimento nas zonas sujeitas a desertificação. -138 p.
Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino de Música – Formação Musical e Música de Conjunto
Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino de Música - Formação Musical e Música de Conjunto
Evaporation of rainfall intercepted by tree canopies is usually an important part of the overall water balance of forested catchments and there have been many studies dedicated to measuring and modelling rainfall interception loss. These studies have mainly been conducted in dense forests; there have been few studies on the very sparse forests which are common in dry and semi-arid areas. Water resources are scarce in these areas making sparse forests particularly important. Methods for modelling interception loss are thus required to support sustainable water management in those areas. In very sparse forests, trees occur as widely spaced individuals rather than as a continuous forest canopy. We therefore suggest that interception loss for this vegetation type can be more adequately modelled if the overall forest evaporation is derived by scaling up the evaporation from individual trees. The evaporation rate for a single tree can be estimated using a simple Dalton-type diffusion equation for water vapour as long as its surface temperature is known. From theory, this temperature is shown to be dependent upon the available energy and windspeed. However, the surface temperature of a fully saturated tree crown, under rainy conditions, should approach the wet bulb temperature as the radiative energy input to the tree reduces to zero. This was experimentally confirmed from measurements of the radiation balance and surface temperature of an isolated tree crown. Thus, evaporation of intercepted rainfall can be estimated using an equation which only requires knowledge of the air dry and wet bulb temperatures and of the bulk tree-crown aerodynamic conductance. This was taken as the basis of a new approach for modelling interception loss from savanna-type woodland, i.e. by combining the Dalton-type equation with the Gash’s analytical model to estimate interception loss from isolated trees. This modelling approach was tested using data from two Mediterranean savanna-type oak woodlands in southern Portugal. For both sites, simulated interception loss agreed well with the observations indicating the adequacy of this new methodology for modelling interception loss by isolated trees in savanna-type ecosystems. Furthermore, the proposed approach is physically based and requires only a limited amount of data. Interception loss for the entire forest can be estimated by scaling up the evaporation from individual trees accounting for the number of trees per unit area.
An experiment was conducted on a low fertility acid soil during 1987-1992, to investigate the influence of lime placement and method of cultivation on the botanical composition and subclover seedling density of a rainfed Mediterranean subclover-based sown pasture.
Two different methods of cultivation, ploughing and scarifying, were factorially combined with three types of the lime application, before, after and half before plus half after cultivation. Lime at four rates, 0, 2, 3 and 6 t lime/ha was applied in a split arranjement.
Liming and scarifying treatments increased sown species (subclovers, white clover and tall fescue) and decreased native species and bare ground. With the first lime increment the sown legumes percentage almost tripled while bare ground chover decreased by more than three times.
This study focuses on exploring the sustainability characteristics of the regional produce, which comes
from the Beiras region of Portugal to support new differentiation claims and forecast its effect on a
global mass-market. Considering a Multiple Helix approach, this study aims to examine the role and
perception of local academia in relation to this new premise to enhance the dynamic and competitive
positioning of such regional produce. To this end, several in-depth interviews were conducted with
local researchers and decision-makers, allowing the significance and potential of the proposed green
claims to be discussed. Several insights into the subject were developed and new directives were
presented. Nonetheless, complementary research may still be necessary to assess the remaining
multiple helix actors of the local ecosystem in order to identify and develop the most promising
strategies to effectively promote local endogenous produce to a global market.
El concepto de espíritu emprendedor se entiende actualmente como una competencia transversal, fundamental para el desarrollo humano, social y económico. Sin embargo, tradicionalmente se há asociado solo a las áreas económicas y de negocios, a pesar de que venimos observando un cambio gradual en esta concepción. Así, en la última década, se ha producido un verdadero incremento en el papel de la educación para el desarrollo de las competencias relacionadas con el espíritu emprendedor, puesto que pueden y deben ser aprendidas y desarrolladas desde muy pronto. Este reconocimiento de la importancia de la educación en el desarrollo del espíritu emprendedor otorga una nueva responsabilidad a las instituciones educativas, en particular a la educación superior. Es precisamente sobre la educación del espíritu emprendedor en la educación superior que este artículo habla. El artículo presenta el ejemplo de dos centros (Centro de Aprendizaje y Desarrollo de la Infancia-CeADIn y el Centro de Ciencia, Tradición & Cultura-CT&C) de la misma institución de educación superior que, aunque con una estructura de organización, objetivos, estrategias y formas de trabajo diversas, tienen algunos puntos en común, como el hecho de que pretenden educar para el espíritu emprendedor tanto a niños, como a jóvenes y adultos, involucrando en este proceso a los alumnos de los cursos de formación del profesorado.
This papers presents a qualitative study aiming to investigate how new Portuguese curriculum proposals from primary school (the intentional curriculum) are translated in the teaching of science of four prospective teachers (the operational curriculum).
The research adopted a case study methodology in order to describe main features of the pedagogical profile of classroom practices of those teachers. Three different profiles were identified. Some interpretative aspects are outlined and important implications for pre-service education are put forward.
Assuming the positive impact of Information and Communication Technologies on learning of students with Intellectual and Developmental Difficulties and considering the articulation of the public system and the particular and cooperative system of schooling of these students in Portugal we will seek to guide a research in a comparative perspective according to an empirical approach, framed in the Comparative paradigm.
Forest fires and forest biodiversity are related issues of major concern in Mediterranean countries and require an integrated approach to landscape planning. The aim of this study was to develop a GIS approach for regulating forest production while promoting landscape diversity and mitigating fire hazard. A study area located in the centre of Portugal was chosen. The area was primarily occupied by maritime pine and had a high fire hazard, low tree species diversity and an extensive protection area. The classical area control method was used to assist in forest production regulation. Species suitability maps were produced for 21 recommended species for afforestation in the study area. Maritime pine management compartments were defined, and a 50-year harvesting plan was proposed. In each harvested compartment, protection areas were identified for species conversion (e.g., native oaks and/or broadleaves). Afforestation species were proposed according to the species suitability maps produced earlier. Low flammability species that produce high-quality wood, non-wood products and landscape enhancement were preferred. A comparison of the land cover in the study area in 2007 to that anticipated in 2064 via the proposed plan showed that a more fragmented landscape structure could be achieved by introducing 16 species of lower flammability than maritime pine into the study area. This study proved the usefulness of this methodological approach for guiding sustainable changes in homogeneous, unmanaged forest landscapes prone to fire. Further research is needed regarding integrated planning approaches that incorporate environmental, economic and social dimensions (e.g., human desertification of rural areas).
The Fashion Research Lab platform, of Università degli Studi
della Campania, deals with fashion and textiles design research, where
develops continues experimenting a methodology that underlines the
importance of sharing methods and prac��ces in the value-crea��on
processes by interac��ng with local and na��onal manufacturing reali��es.
Campania's productive landscape is understood as a reserve of material
and immaterial resources, the university acts to create useful connections
and interactions in the logic of networking. The design ability for Fashion
to feed radical innovations in the consumer world and thus inform
innova��on strategies in produc��on is able to lead to new economic
prospects in which a fundamental role is played by human and relational
capital. The territorial laboratory assumes open source connotation, the
approach is 'Listening Design' that allows it to act as a systemic innovation
driving force.
Na escola, as TIC passam a ser um elemento constituinte do processo de ensino c de aprendizagem e os professores devem proporcionar, a todos os alunos, as mesmas oportunidades e condições a nível de literacia digital, nomeadamente através de novas e diferentes abordagens dos conteúdos. Neste sentido, esta investigação teve corno objetivo principal averiguar se a Internet é segura para as crianças do r 0 ciclo c quais os procedimentos preventivos mais adequados para melhorar essa segurança.
Este relatório está fundamentado nas experiências vividas como médica estagiária duma EIHSCP.
As 3 partes principais do relatório são:
Prática clínica:
- Objetivos
- Percursos e momentos da prática clínica
- Estudo de caso clínico
- Entrevista à uma médica da EIHSCP
Projeto de intervenção:
Ação formativa direcionada as PDS da EIHSCP
Projeto de investigação
Revisão sistemática de literatura
Poster apresentado na IUFRO Conference - Mixed and Pure Forests in a Changing World, que decorreu de 6 a 8 de Outubro de 2010, na Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, em Vila Real.
Numerosas pesquisas têm demostrado que as concepções implícitas do professor influenciam a forma como ensina e as suas opções metodológicas, interagindo de uma forma dinâmica com os contextos em que está envolvido.
Tendo como base conceptual alguns dos pressupostos do “paradigma do pensamento do professor”, este artigo pretende reflectir sobre as condições e as estratégias de mudança conceptual, no âmbito da formação inicial de professores. A esse propósito apresentam-se os resultados de algumas investigações que, identificando alguns limites e dificuldades nos processos de mudança, apontam, de uma forma evidente, para uma relação dinâmica e, por vezes, conflitual, entre as concepções implícitas do professor sobre os processos de ensino-aprendizagem e os seus comportamentos pedagógicos.
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Encuadrado dentro del ámbito de los proyectos INTERREG España-Portugal, y financiado con fondos FEDER del programa POCTEP, el proyecto OTALEX C (Observatorio Territorial y Ambiental Alentejo Extremadura Centro) aborda del estudio de diversos indicadores territoriales, socioeconómicos y ambientales. Siendo el objetivo fundamental, de dicho proyecto, desarrollar un geoportal accesible, a través de internet, para cualquier persona de forma que la información contenida en él sea útil en la toma de decisiones relacionadas con los usos del suelo y, por tanto, con el desarrollo sostenible del medio. Bajo este marco general a lo largo de los últimos quince años se han vendido desarrollando distintos proyectos que han ido abordando desde la estandarización de datos entre Portugal y España, pasando por diseños de sistemas SIG, continuando con desarrollo de modelos territoriales y sistemas de indicadores, para culminar en lo que hoy es la Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales IDE-OTALEXC. Palabras clave: SIG, teledetección, IDE, indicadores territoriales, indicadores socioeconómicos, indicadores ambientales, cooperación transfronteriza.
The objective of our study was to validate the Intention to be physically active Scale to the Portuguese context, afterwards, to provide the questionnaire with concurrent validity through a correlation analysis between the variables of the levels of self-determined motivation and the intention to be physically active. The sample consisted of 308 subjects, aged between 15 and 29 years old (17.81±2.53). Five items evaluated the factor "Intention to be physically active". The overall results of the model indicated an optimal fit, as well as good concurrent validity. This study provided a valid and reliable scale to assess the intention to be physically active of the Portuguese population. The application of this scale is considered extremely useful especially in students.
There is an increasing number of students in basic education schools with difficulties in reading, and consequently, in writing. Our exploratory study aims to understand if the C Pen Exam Reader (C-Pen) helps in the learning process of students with language and writing difficulties. The methodology chosen was interviews with elementary school teachers, no special education teachers, and a speech therapist, as well as the support of CRTICee of the Amato Lusitano School Grouping. Thus, it was possible to assess the added value for
students, not only in terms of their autonomy, since it is a reading pen, but also their self-esteem and inclusion in the school environment. It was also possible to clarify which points to improve in the use of this instrument to maximize its effectiveness and, thus, improve the quality of life of these students, such as prosody (accentuation, intonation, duration, rhythm of words and phrases).
It is essential and urgent to seek social cohesion and quality of life of citizens, namely quality public spaces, energy efficiency, employment, economy, integration and social inclusion, among others, through policies (global or local), while respecting the specificity of each region. Indeed, in order to change the municipalities’ planning policy, it is essential to incorporate sustainability criteria and their measurement. In particular indicators are a useful tool for communication and to support decision. The intermunicipal communities, as a cluster of neighbour municipalities, have an essential role in the promotion of territorial policies as a key factor for European territorial cohesion. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal. Its population represents 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. This region holds the country’s 3rd and 4th largest municipalities in terms of area (Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova), but with the lowest populational densities (18 inhabitant/km2). The main objective of this study is to present the results of the themes and calculate an index to determinate the key areas of a questionnaire survey applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The survey aims the support of the development of a participative Indicators System (IS) for Intermunicipal Sustainability assessment. The objectives of the questionnaire were to inquire the population’s perceptions and awareness about sustainability concepts, main sustainability themes and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The data that resulted was analysed using adequate multivariate statistical techniques, in particular to merge the more relevant sustainability domains and respective themes. The results show a statistically significant association between “Have you heard of the term “Sustainable Development (SD)”?” and “municipality”. Specifically, we can see that in the rural municipalities the percentage of the population that has never heard of SD is higher. Besides, there is an imbalance between the four dimensions associated with the concept of SD (environment, economy, social and governance/institutional), in the
community as well as in each municipality. In the question that relates to the Themes of the IS the environmental and social ones were identified as the most relevant. The exploratory factorial analysis on the presented subjects revealed six “components”: the first one is strongly related with the “Environmental”, the second with the “Economical”, the third with the
“Social”, the fourth with the “Rural”, the fifth with the “Immaterial” and lastly the “External Aspects”. The research revealed also the low involvement of the population in public decisions and in questions related to the environment. It is essential to involve the population in order to put pressure on the government and local authorities to diminish social inequalities and assume their responsibilities for commitments to society, namely regarding local sustainability.
It is essential and urgent to seek social cohesion and quality of life of citizens, namely quality public spaces, energy efficiency, employment, economy, integration and social inclusion, among others, through policies (global or local), while respecting the specificity of each region. Indeed, in order to change the municipalities’ planning policy, it is essential to incorporate sustainability criteria and their measurement. In particular, indicators are a useful tool for communication and to support decision. The intermunicipal communities, as a cluster of neighbour municipalities, have an essential role in the promotion of territorial policies as a key factor for European territorial cohesion. The case study presented is about the Beira Baixa region in the interior of Portugal. Its population represents 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal. This region holds the country’s 3rd and 4th largest municipalities in terms of area (Castelo Branco and Idanha-a-Nova), but with the lowest populational densities (18 inhabitant/km2). The main objective of this study is to present the results of the themes and calculate an index to determinate the key areas of a questionnaire survey applied to a representative sample of the resident population of Beira Baixa, Portugal, over 18 years of age. The survey aims the support of the development of a participative Indicators System (IS) for Intermunicipal Sustainability assessment. The objectives of the questionnaire were to inquire the population’s perceptions and awareness about sustainability concepts, main sustainability themes and self-assessment of the local sustainability. The data that resulted was analysed using adequate multivariate statistical techniques, in particular to merge the more relevant sustainability domains and respective themes. The results show a statistically significant association between “Have you heard of the term “Sustainable Development (SD)”?” and “municipality”. Specifically, we can see that in the rural municipalities the percentage of the population that has never heard of SD is higher. Besides, there is an imbalance between the four dimensions associated with the concept of SD (environment, economy, social and governance/institutional), in the
community as well as in each municipality. In the question that relates to the Themes of the IS the environmental and social ones were identified as the most relevant. The exploratory factorial analysis on the presented subjects revealed six “components”: the first one is strongly related with the “Environmental”, the second with the “Economical”, the third with the
“Social”, the fourth with the “Rural”, the fifth with the “Immaterial” and lastly the “External Aspects”. The research revealed also the low involvement of the population in public decisions and in questions related to the environment. It is essential to involve the population in order to put pressure on the government and local authorities to diminish social inequalities and assume their responsibilities for commitments to society, namely regarding local sustainability.
Ease of scale is one of the defining characteristics of microservices. However, with scalability comes the problem of diversity of services, making it very important to detect anomalies the soonest possible. Because it is recent, there are still few studies on the best approaches to detecting anomalies in microservices. This paper proposes the Python toolkit, PyOD, as an approach for microservice anomaly detection. This toolkit is composed of a set of anomaly detection algorithms, including classical LOF (SIGMOD2000) to the latest ECOD (TKDE2022). To evaluate the approach, we used two of its algorithms, k Nearest Neighbors (kNN) and Histogram-based Outlier Score (HBOS) to detect anomalies such as application bugs, CPU exhausted, and network jam on the TraceRCA dataset. This dataset contains logs from a real microservices system. The preliminary results show that HBOS algorithm performs better than kNN, with Recall and F1-Score of 93% and 89%, respectively, while for kNN these metrics were 92% and 85%, respectively.
This article results from the analysis of the results of the Project for the Promotion and Valorization of the International Tagus Natural Park (PNTI), developed from the management model of the National Network of Protected Areas and implemented in 2017 from the pilot project for the collaborative management of the PNTI, involving multiple organizations of the territory. The aim was to develop a communication strategy appropriate to the PNTI and its territories, and it was found in the communication design discipline a strategic tool for the development of means and supports that could promote the dissemination, promotion and valorization of the territory, in harmony with the fundamental principles of nature conservation and biodiversity.
Background: The UN Replacement Migration report (2000) had a significant impact in academic and civil society. Its approach consisted of estimating the migration volumes required to mitigate the effects of population decline and ageing. The volume of migrants required to prevent population decline and sustain the working-age population was not particularly high, but the vast number of migrants needed to maintain the potential support ratio was highlighted as an unrealistic goal.
Objective: In this paper the UN exercise is revisited and updated by deploying the concept of prospective age to overcome a strict chronological definition of the working-age population. The replacement migration approach is developed from a new European perspective, the temporal series is extended for an additional decade, and alternative operative age-group definitions are compared by projecting replacement migration estimations according to both classic (conventional) and dynamic (prospective) age limits.
Conclusions: The key conclusions of the original UN publication are reasserted. In many countries the replacement migration volumes needed to sustain the decline in total population and working-age population are of an order of magnitude similar to recent observed migration. However, even under the prospective-age approach the halt of the ageing process – expressed as the maintenance of the current potential support ratio – remains an unrealistic target.
Contribution: We propose the deployment of the prospective-age concept to define dynamic age limits in the definition of working-age population. Because the prospective-age concept is flexible it will be possible to explore other dimensions from this perspective in the future, increasing the analytical potential of replacement migration estimations as a valuable contribution to the demographic ageing debate
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Acid mine drainage represents an extreme environment with high concentrations of potentially
toxic elements and low pH values. These aquatic habitats are characterised by harsh conditions
for biota, being dominated by acidophilic organisms. The study site, São Domingos mine,
located in one of the largest metallogenetic provinces in the world, the Iberian Pyrite Belt, was
closed without preventive measures. To identify the algae species and understand the relationships
with abiotic parameters of the ecosystem, water and biological material were collected and analysed.
Digital terrain models were obtained with an unmanned aerial vehicle for geomorphological
and hydrologic characterisation of the mine degraded landscape. The results show two types of
algal colours that seem to represent different degrees of photosynthetic activity. Optical and scanning
electron microscopy revealed 14 taxa at the genus level, divided into eight classes. The genus
Mougeotia is the most abundant multicellular algae. With respect to unicellular algae, diatoms are
ubiquitous and abundant. Abiotic analyses expose typical features of acid mine drainage and
support an inverse relationship between chemical contamination and biological diversity. Factorial
correspondence analysis indicates three groups of attributes and samples by their relationship with
specific toxic elements. This analysis also suggests a close association between Spirogyra and Pb,
together composing a structurally simple ecosystem. The highest contamination in the river system
is related to the hydrologic patterns obtained from photogrammetric products, such as the digital
surface model and flow map accumulation, indicating the input of leachates from the section
having the finest sulfide-rich wastes. Information about the algae community and their association
with flow patterns of toxic elements is a relevant tool from a biomonitoring perspective.
In 2015, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) defined a new agenda and supplied a holistic and multidimensional view for development. These Goals are challenges to traditional teaching methods, and important to educate for Sustainable Development (SD) and involve young people in the participative model. Young generation can contribute to promote environmental conscience, and to the change in values and attitudes towards sustainability. Bearing in mind that each player has its own “language” it is essential to promote dialogue between science and society, namely among the youth. The case study of this research takes place in the context of a special program, that aims to establish scientific
publication partnerships between Secondary Education Schools (SESs) and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and it refers to the Beira Baixa region. This region is predominately rural, that represents approximately 0.8% of the resident population of Portugal (around 83 thousand people), having one of the lowest rates of young people in the country (10.6%). The main goal of this work is to reflect on the perception that the youth has about SD, based on the results from a questionnaire applied to a group from the region’s student population in Secondary Education. The questionnaire comprises of five parts: i) characterization of the sample; ii) SD perception, iii) SD evaluation in the municipality of residence, iv) what is important to evaluate in the region’s SD, v) voluntary activities. The results allowed to verify that the large majority of the students has heard of the term SD, having school and the media been the major contributors. When asked about the evaluation of SD in the region, referring to the four dimensions, and according to a traffic light, the majority considered the environmental dimension “green”, the economic and governance “yellow” and the social dimension is divided between “green” and “yellow”. About 40% of the students considers that their quality of life “is the same” as in previous years. When asked about what is important to evaluate in their region’s SD and, specifically which of the SDG are more important to their region, the main ones are: Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and Climate action (SDG 13). Most of them considers that the process for selecting indicators should have their opinion in mind. This project intends to improve the level of knowledge about SD (knowledge acquisition, skills and attitudes), mostly among young people, so that their future decisions are informed and efficient and promote a commitment towards a sustainable future. There is a continuous need, urgent and vital, to create and develop innovative tools to educate the young people on sustainability that allow for the improvement of their knowledge, their skills and their attitudes about SD and the SDG. This work demonstrates that the SESs, connected to the HEIs, can play a vital role in awareness about SD and, specifically about the SDG, so that SD can be reached from the local to the global levels, in order to contribute towards social change and a more sustainable future.
Agricultural activities, as part of the natural resource management practice, impact soil and water quality at the
watershed or catchment level. Field monitoring is often used to evaluate and acquire knowledge of the impacts
of management practices on productivity and environment. Computer simulation models, after calibrated and
validated, provide an efficient and effective alternative for evaluating the effects of agricultural practices on soil
and water quality at the watershed level. The main objective is calibrate and validate the AnnAGNPS model
relatively to runoff and peak flow using five hydrologic years data, for the rain and irrigation season. The study
watershed is located in Portugal, and covers an area of 189 ha, divided into 18 fields belonging to four farmers.
The climate is typically Mediterranean with continental influence, and the main crops are oat, tobacco, sorghum
and maize. The calibration was done manually, but in a systematic away, in order to select values for the
statistical parameters so that the model closely simulates runoff and peak flow. The results obtained in
calibration and validation of the AnnAGNPS model, confirm a good or very good performance to simulate the
peak flow and runoff volume at daily or event scale, in rainfall season. Also, the obtained results are a good
indication of the validity of AnnAGNPS model to simulate runoff in irrigation to larger periods of time, for
example irrigation season.
This paper presents the concepts developed for my piece “Breakfast Serialism”, for laptop orchestra and improvisers. This piece introduces several conceptual and technical aspects made possible by the use of computer mediation using network communication between the conductor and the performers.
The piece is intended as a study on some of the technical and musical potential of the networked laptop orchestra. It is divided in six sections, each one exploring different musical possibilities for the application of the computer as a mediator, that ‘listens’ to all the events from the ensemble, and algorithmically adapts the pitch and dynamic possibilities using custom software developed in the Max/MSP programming environment.
The concepts and technical aspects will be described, as well as an insight to the background and some of the specific points of interest and concerns in electronic music ensembles, reflecting a conviction that laptop ensembles present vastly rich, unique and underexplored compositional possibilities.
This piece was composed for the ‘EME – ESART Electroacoustic Music Ensemble’, of the School of Applied Arts of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, with my students from the Electronic Music and Musical Production course, and guest instrument students with experience in free improvisation. It was premiered in the “Serralves em Festa” music festival, in June 1st 2014, at the library of the Serralves Foundation, Porto.
In this work, the effect of single overloads on plasticity induced crack closure is studied. An elastic-plastic
finite element model was developed and the crack opening level was calculated from the contact forces
along the crack flank. The effects of the loading parameters and stress state are analysed, and the mechanisms
behind crack closure variations are identified. An overload is a traumatic event that eliminates
material’s memory relative to the load history. Crack tip blunting is the mechanism behind this memory
loss, since it eliminates crack closure. Material hardening has a major relevance on the evolution of plastic
blunting, which was evident in the variation of the CTOD parameter. On the other hand, the overload
produces strong plastic deformation ahead of the crack tip, giving rise to conditions for the rapid generation
of crack closure higher than before the event. The peak of crack closure was found to increase linearly
with the load increase above the maximum baseline value. The crack is totally closed for overload
ratios of about 2.5. Empirical models were developed for the peak of crack closure, for the delay of this
peak and for the stabilization distance after the overload. Finally, the stress state was found to have a
major effect on crack closure level after an overload.
This paper deals with Single Carrier (SC)/Frequency Domain Equalization (FDE) as an uplink alternative to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for a Multi User (MU)-Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) system where a ”massive MIMO” approach is adopted. In this context, either an optimum Minimum Mean-Squared Error (MMSE) linear detector or appropriate reduced-complexity linear detection techniques are considered. Regarding performance evaluation by simulation, two semi-analytical methods are proposed - one method in the optimum (MMSE) case and the other one in the reduced-complexity cases. This paper includes performance results for uncoded 4 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) SC/FDE transmission and a MU-MIMO channel with uncorrelated Rayleigh fading, under the assumptions of perfect power control and perfect channel estimation.The accuracy of performance results obtained through the semi-analytical simulation methods is assessed by means of parallel conventional Monte Carlo simulations. The performance results are discussed in detail and we also emphasize the achievable ”massive MIMO” effects, even for the reduced complexity detection techniques, provided that the number of BS antennas is much higher than the number of antennas which are jointly employed in the terminals of the multiple autonomous users. Appropriate ”SC/FDE vs OFDM” comparisons are also included in this discussion of performance results.
Concrete is a heterogeneous material compounded of aggregates embedded in a cement paste matrix.
The heterogeneity of concrete constituents can result in severe thermal damage at the cement pasteaggregate
interface. When cement paste is exposed to high temperatures, different hydration products
gradually lose water causing mass loss. This paper presents the results of an experimental
investigation on the physical and chemical properties of a steel and polypropylene fibre high strength
concretes at elevated temperatures. Several tests were carried out, such as thermal analysis (TGADTA),
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Five concrete
compositions with different steel fibres dosages and types were selected for the study: one without
steel fibres, two with DRAMIX 3D steel fibres and two with DRAMIX 5D steel fibres (both with 45
and 75 kg/m3). All compositions had the same amount of polypropylene fibres (2 kg/m3). The
temperatures levels tested were: 20, 200, 500, 800 and 1000 °C. These tests were performed with the
purpose of evaluating the temperature effect on mineralogical changes that occurred in the hardened
cement paste and its influence on compressive strength of these concretes at high temperatures.
In order to understand the intercultural awareness development of engineering students, which is
necessary for them to fully function in globalized educational and professional work contexts, a
dedicated project was carried-out with Industrial Engineering students in a Higher Education
Portuguese Polytechnic Institute during three successive academic years in the framework of an
adjunct CLIL pilot experiment. Students’ perceptions were collected and assessed in order to tackle
two main research questions: “Do students feel they have more opportunities for global employment or
globally networked collaborative innovation?” and “What were the difficulties experienced because of
the CLIL methodological approach?”. Preliminary findings point out that even though students feel that
competence in English is important (or very important) concerning their work as engineers, the
majority states not being proficient in that language. Students also refer that the CLIL approach
allowed them to develop collaborative work with other colleagues and helped them understand better
their own personal language learning needs, thus contributing to facilitate their communication in a
foreign language.
The aim of this study was to review the evolutionary tendencies of research regarding to the study of male Rink-Hockey players´ and game performance. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases according to PRISMA method. The initial search identified 815 titles, resulting in 19 articles being included within the review. Original papers (English language) contained relevant data regarding rink hockey players' performance or morphological/physiological demands, anthropometry/body composition characteristics were eligible. Studies were classified into categories: (1) Physiological Demands, (2) Anthropometry and Body Composition, (3) Game Characterization/Patterns, (4) Injuries. Results indicated that Rink hockey requires high intensity effort which demands both short and long duration efforts requirements from players. Body composition analysis shows to be an important monitoring tool which complements the understanding of the athlete's cardiac adaptation. Game patterns shows a combination of specific game momentums with different outcomes according to the game zone. The intense short-term movements, collision and contact between players, in addition to the weight and speed of the hard ball and the stick, can considerably increase the risk of moderate and severe injuries. Lack of literature in Rink-Hockey is remarkable, and research is mainly focused on children and adolescents' players. Furthermore, the existing research with adult elite athletes was assessed with a small sample size.
The aim of this study was to analyze the association between coaches’ experience and their perceptions on the implementation of a long-term athletic development (LTAD) model created in 2016 by the Portuguese Swimming Federation. Eighty-six swimming coaches were assembled in groups according to their experience level: “novice” (n = 24), “intermediate” (n = 26), and “experienced” (n = 36), and they answered a questionnaire with the following items: (i) awareness of the existing model (ii) acceptance (iii) usefulness for practice, and (iv) implementation of this model by their peers. Regardless of experience, ~67% of the coaches were aware of the model. Among those, a large number showed acceptance (~95%) and confidence in its usefulness (~83%) for their daily practice. Most coaches (92%) showed concerns about the fact that their peers do not respect the model frameworks, declaring the search for their swimmers’ immediate success (~58%) as the main cause for such behavior. The results also showed an association between experience and knowledge about the model’s existence [χ2 (2) = 10.223, p < 0.01, V = 0.345], and experienced coaches exhibited better knowledge than their intermediate [χ2 (2) = 9.555, p < 0.01, V = 0.393] or novice [χ2 (2) = 5.926, p = 0.02, V = 0.314] counterparts. While there was an association between the coaches’ experience and knowledge about the LTAD model’s existence, this situation does not seem to influence the way coaches accept and understand the usefulness of the model for their daily practice.
In the last few years, there has been a trend inside the Science Education Research (SER) community to analyze the “health” of SER (e.g. Fensham, 2004; Gilbert, 1995; Horton et al. 1993; Jenkins, 2000; Millar & Osborne, 1998).
Our aim is to explicit the relationship between the main orientations of science education research (for practice or theory) with research type (categories defined by Tsai & Wen, 2005, e.g. empirical, theoretical, position papers and revision research).
The corpus of the selected papers was formed by the most influential SER papers in the period between1993-2002. Two main criteria were used to select the papers:
i) Papers published in three of the most important international SER journals (SE - Science Education, JRST - Journal of Research in Science Teaching and IJSE - International Journal of Science Education);
ii) Papers of a restricted group of “more times cited” in each year.
We identified the 152 most influential papers: 43 from SE; 73 from JRST; and 36 from IJSE.
Our analysis show that the empiric research type prevails among all main orientations of SER (for practice, for theory or for policy). Only a small group of studies is concern to find and make explicit the reference points of Science Education field. This work may contribute to transpose the fragmentation obstacle of present SE knowledge. A good start point would be characterize what we know about SE and identify the persistent problems and the new problems.
“© © 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.”
Current research uses a finite element analysis to characterize the effect of the materials mechanical and tribological properties on the interaction between the biological tissues of a transfemoral amputation and the combined prosthesis. Considering that both friction and mechanical properties influence the stress distribution between different interfaces, these were analyzed on the contacts of the prosthesis and the liner, the liner and the soft tissues and, finally, the soft tissues and the cortical bone. This is of significant importance, as it has been acknowledged that the shear stress distribution at these interfaces significantly impacts the patients’ comfort. These shear stresses have also been reported as one of the leading causes of pressure ulcers in osteotomized patients. Finally, this research discusses the influence of the soft tissues and the liner constitutive law in the stress field generated at the biological tissues. In particular, for the liner, the results using a linear elastic model are compared with those using the Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic model. The results using a linear elastic model are compared with the Neo-Hookean and Ogden models’ results for the soft tissues.
In recent years, research on sedentary behaviour has increased. In this regard, there is a
need for theoretical reviews that allow us to determine the past, analyse the present, and prepare the future of research in this field. The purpose of this review paper was to analyse and organise the emerging qualitative research trends (2010–2021) on the sedentary behaviour of older adults. A systematic literature search strategy was developed in various electronic scientific databases (e.g., PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scielo, and Scopus). The included studies were required to have different qualitative methodological approaches in terms of data collection and methods of data analysis. Studies conducted in any country and published in a peer-reviewed journal in
English, Spanish, and Portuguese were considered. A thematic analysis approach was used for data extraction and synthesis, and confidence in the results was assessed using the GRADE-CERQual approach. This study may enable accurate guidelines to be established for future primary qualitative research related to sedentary behaviour.
ABSTRACT : The paper discusses a formal didactic activity in a higher education context, which brought to the design, development, and testing of thirteen Location-Based Mobile Games (LBMGs) for the Bagatti Valsecchi House Museum. The activity involved BSc Design students in developing and testing interactive solutions aimed at reaching out to the"under 35" community of the museum with engaging and entertaining experiences. For this purpose, the stakeholder group of the museu mexperts was also involved in co-designing the solutions. On the one hand, this study focuses on the beneficial approach of involving Design students in the multiple roles of designer, player/visitor, and target audience. On the other hand, it looks at those aspects that may turn LBMGs into a means for engaging and entertaining museum visitors' experiences. We focus on four LBMGs (out of thirteen) that the museum selected to be tested with their younger community, highlighting those elements that emerged as particularly relevant for enhancing visitors' engagement and motivations. In this regard, three aspects stand out as the most impacting: (i) the benefits of a design approach based on the early involvement of both experts (the museum) and the target audience(students themselves); (ii) an intelligent orchestration of narratives and game mechanics, specifically designed to leverage the fascinating museum space, and (iii) the ability of such games to stimulate social engagement.
Objectives: The objective of this research was to verify if there was a variation in the MFC (Minimum Foot Clearance) value among elderly with and without history of falls and, if there were any, verify which joint of the lower limb was responsible for that variation. It was also a main objective to verify if there was a correlation between the risk of falling, achieved through the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), and the MFC variation.
Material and Methods: The sample consisted of a total of 30 elderly who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These were divided into the group without history of falls (n=15) and into the group with history of falls (n=15). The MFC and the joint movement amplitudes of the hip, knee and ankle, of the dominant lower limb, were assessed using the Kinovea programme and for the risk of fall assessment it was used the TUG.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the MFC and TUG values between the groups with and without history of falls. However, there is a decrease of the MFC value for the group with history of falls, being the ankle the joint that most contributed to the MFC variation in the group without history of falls, and the knee in the group with history of falls. About the relation between MFC and TUG, it was obtained a negative correlation (r=-0,269) but it was not significant (p=0,150).
Conclusion: In our sample no significant differences in the MFC value were obtained between the group with history of falls and the group without history of falls.
Besides the lack of significant differences in the MFC value it was determined the articulation of the lower limb responsible for its variation, and it has been found, although with a p>0,05, that for the group with no history of falls it was the ankle that more contributed to this variation and the knee to the group with history of falls.
Concerning to the TUG and MFC value correlation it wasn’t significant. Thus, it was concluded that the TUG use is more effective and sensitive in predicting the risk of falling when compared with the kinematic analysis to obtain the MFC value and the joints amplitude.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the changes that occur in the balance, fear of falling and kinematic parameters such as stride length, velocity and time support in elderly with and without a history of falling. Main objective was also to verify whether a relationship exists between changes in gait parameters evaluated, balance and fear of falling.
Methods: The sample comprised 30 patients (15 with history of falls and 15 without a history of falls), which met the criteria for inclusion and exclusion. The kinematic evaluation was performed in the dominant leg, which was right in this sample. The stride length, speed and duration of support were assessed using the program Kinovea and for assessment of balance and fear of falling were assessed using the Berg Balance Scale and the Falls Efficacy Scale. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 20.
Results: There were no significant differences in the parameters analyzed, except for scores on the Berg Balance Scale (p=0.000) between groups with and without history of falls. However, there is a decrease in the length of the stride and duration of left leg support and the increased length of right leg support, the speed and the fear of falling. The relationship between the parameters obtained, there is only statistically significant result between speed and stride length (r=0.507, p=0.004) and between the score of the Berg Balance Scale and the stride length (r=0.393, p=0,032).
Conclusion: Although not having obtained statistically significant results we can conclude that in elderly with a history of falls have changes in speed and stride length that can be related to balance disorders and the aging process itself. However, it is concluded that the use of the Berg Balance Scale is more responsive and effective in the detection of changes occurring in the individual after a fall, and subsequent evaluation of the risk of falling that performing a kinematic analysis.
Este estudo investiga os fatores socioculturais que influenciam a aprendizagem das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) e identifica os impactos desta aprendizagem no Bem-estar (mental e social). A investigação envolveu 374 cidadãos (50+anos), e os resultados apontam que, ao longo do processo de envelhecimento, a necessidade de comunicação e a manutenção da atividade intelectual são fatores preponderantes na aquisição de competências digitais, constituindo a inclusão e educação eixos fundamentais na aprendizagem ao longo da vida
In closed canopy forests the energy absorbed by the trees can be adequately estimated solely from the vertical radiation fluxes. However, in isolated or widely spaced trees this approach is no longer valid and radiation fluxes in all directions must be accounted for. An adequate estimate of the tree available energy is critical to model and calculate both interception losses and transpiration. Within a study where interception loss in a sparse evergreen oak woodland (montado) of Southern Portugal is evaluated and mod¬elled, the net amount of radiant energy absorbed by an isolated holm oak tree (Q) was measured under different radiation conditions. The measuring and calculating proce¬dure was based on the integration of the flux density of net radiation (Rn) at different points of a cylindrical surface (S) enclosing the tree crown. A set of 4 net radiome¬ters were used: one at a fixed position, on the top of the crown, and the remaining 3 mounted on a standing structure that could be moved around the tree to measure Rn fluxes through the inferior and lateral sides. Measurements of Q were made for 8 dif¬ferent days, during the first 3 months of 2006. Night time measurements of Rn were also done, but with the net radiometers at fixed positions around the tree. The meteoro¬logical conditions during the measurements included clear sky and cloudy days, some of which with light rain. Net radiation at the top of the crown accounted for about 72 % of the total energy absorbed by the tree, and this is reflected by the good linear fit between Q and Rn above the crown. Meteorological conditions seem to have some influence on this relationship, as suggested by the differences on the adjusted linear models when total, clear sky, cloudy or rainy data sets were used. The occurrence of rain tends to cause a slight increase in Q in comparison to dry conditions, for identical
levels of Rn. Q also shows a strong linear response to solar radiation (Rs), given the dependence of net radiation upon short wave radiation. The same happens with the component of Q received by the top crown surface. However, energy absorbed lat¬erally is much less dependent on Rs, and the inferior component of Q is completely independent of solar radiation. Under conditions when rainfall interception is most likely to occur, i.e. cloudy/rainy days, the daily time-course of Q follows closely those of Rs and Rn, with a maximum of only 75 W m-2 (expressed per unit of leaf area). Similar maximum daily values were observed in other studies with different species but under similar weather conditions. During the night, net radiation should not have a significant spatial variability and Rn around the canopy should be relatively homo¬geneous. Accordingly, night time estimates of Q were obtained from measurements of Rn at fixed positions, which were considered representative of the Rn fluxes around the tree.
Introduction:
Physical activity and exercise in the elderly has main importance for improving health and quality of life. The exercise prevent incapacity and reduce chronic diseases impact. However most of this population remains sedentary according their lifestyle and increases the chances to becoming dependent of others. The implementation of one home-based program could be more effective for improving physical activity, but is necessary the individual's participation. Program adherence is modulated by psychological and social determinants, moreover low adherence levels are usualy in elderly that living alone and without regular exercise practice.
Objectives:
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate a home-based exercise program adherence and control his results during six months on elderly rural population.
Methods:
This study was made in two communities, counting with a sample of 16 participants. The assessment was made in two different moments (T0 and T1), corresponding to the beginning and to the end of the exercises program. A follow-up of 3 and 6 months was also accessed. The individuals performed the exercises twice a week for 8 weeks (in September/October 2013). Local and phone sessions were made by the physiotherapist for assessing the compression and execution of the domiciliary exercises. Adherence was measured by records made by the participants. Assessment includes TUG (mobility), SF-12 (health condition), IPAQ (physical activity levels) and MMSE (cognitive condition).
Results:
One of the communities perform the exercise program in a community space, with high team spirit and strong adherence. At the end of the program that participants had improvement their health condition, mobility and increase their physical activity levels.
Conclusion:
Perform an exercise program on community revealed high levels of participant's adherence to the exercise and introduced changes to the home--based program, improving the participation.
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Purpose
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become increasingly important in national and international markets because they contribute to the development of local and national economies. SMEs often face serious challenges when competing with multinational companies. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for assessing SMEs’ competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a constructivist epistemology, this study makes an integrated use of cognitive mapping and the measuring attractiveness by a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH). To this end, face-to-face sessions were conducted with a panel of entrepreneurs and senior managers who deal with the challenges of maintaining SME competitiveness every day. The proposed assessment system was tested and validated by the panel members.
Findings
The methodological processes adopted in this study provide promising results for decision makers seeking to identify the most competitive SMEs. Specifically, the results emphasize, among other points, the importance of innovation and the human dimension to gaining competitive advantages.
Research limitations/implications
The evaluation system developed in this study is extremely versatile and confirms the usefulness of integrating cognitive mapping and MACBETH to facilitate evaluations of SME competitiveness. However, due to its idiosyncratic and process-oriented nature, generalizations need to be done with caution.
Practical implications
The proposed method can be valuable to researchers seeking to develop mechanisms for evaluating SMEs’ entrepreneurial performance and include specialized know-how and sensemaking in organizational decision-making processes.
Originality/value
The integrated use of cognitive maps and MACBETH contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs’ competitiveness. No prior work reporting the use of this dual methodology in this study context has been found.
Labdanum resin from Cistus ladanifer L. (Cistaceae) is an abundant natural resource in the Iberian Peninsula worth being explored in a sustainable manner. It is already used in the cosmetic industry; mainly by the fragrances/perfumery sector. However, given the highest market share and
traditional uses, labdanum resin also has the potential to be used and valued as a cosmetic ingredient for skincare. Aiming to evaluate this potential, labdanum methanolic absolute and fractions purified
by column chromatography were characterized by UPLC-DAD-ESI-MS and then evaluated for UVprotection, antioxidant, anti-elastase, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. Labdanum
absolute represented ~70% of the resin; diterpenoid and flavonoid fractions represented ~75% and 15% of the absolute, respectively. Labdane-type diterpenoids and methylated flavonoids were the main compounds in labdanum absolute and in diterpenoid and flavonoid fractions, respectively. Labdanum
absolute showed a spectrophotometric sun protection factor (SPF) near 5, which is mainly due to flavonoids, as the flavonoids’ SPF was 13. Low antioxidant activity was observed, with ABTS radical scavenging being the most significant (0.142 ± 0.017, 0.379 ± 0.039 and 0.010 ± 0.003 mgTE/mgExt,
for the absolute and flavonoid and terpene fractions, respectively). Anti-aging and anti-inflammatory activity are reported here for the first time, by the inhibition of elastase activity (22% and 13%, by absolute and flavonoid extract at 1 mg/mL), and by the inhibition of nitric oxide production in
LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells (84% to 98%, at 15 µg/mL extracts, flavonoid fraction the most active), respectively. Antimicrobial activity, against relevant skin and cosmetic product microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli, revealed that
only S. aureus was susceptible to labdanum absolute (MIC: 1.2 mg/mL) and its fractions (MIC: <0.3 mg/mL). In conclusion, labdanum resin showed potential to be used in sunscreen cosmetics, anti-inflammatory skincare cosmeceuticals or medicines but has low potential as a cosmetic product preservative given the low antioxidant and low-spectrum antimicrobial activities.
Vol. 1: O saneamento básico em Portugal. Vol. 2: Quadro institucional. Vol. 3: Instrumentos financeiros e sistemas. Vol. 4: Organização dos serviços tarifários. Vol. 5: Ordenamento do mercado de obras. Vol. 6: Gestão delegada. Vol. 7: Regulamentação técnica. Vol. 8: Normalização técnica. Vol. 9: Custos de construção e exploração. Vol. 10: Certificação da qualidade de produtos e instalações. Vol. 11: Laboratórios de análises de águas e resíduos. Vol. 12: Avaliação de níveis de qualidade de serviço. Vol. 13: Informação estatística. Vol. 14: Formação de recursos humanos. Vol. 15: Informação, sensilização e participação pública. Vol. 16: Investigação e desenvolvimento
Vol. 1: O saneamento básico em Portugal. Vol. 2: Quadro institucional. Vol. 3: Instrumentos financeiros e sistemas. Vol. 4: Organização dos serviços tarifários. Vol. 5: Ordenamento do mercado de obras. Vol. 6: Gestão delegada. Vol. 7: Regulamentação técnica. Vol. 8: Normalização técnica. Vol. 9: Custos de construção e exploração. Vol. 10: Certificação da qualidade de produtos e instalações. Vol. 11: Laboratórios de análises de águas e resíduos. Vol. 12: Avaliação de níveis de qualidade de serviço. Vol. 13: Informação estatística. Vol. 14: Formação de recursos humanos. Vol. 15: Informação, sensilização e participação pública. Vol. 16: Investigação e desenvolvimento
Disponível na Biblioteca da ESART na cota : 659 - 5239
Documento disponível na Biblioteca da ESART na cota : 621 - 5563
Disponível na Biblioteca da ESACB na cota C30-18954TFCPAN.
Evidence shows that physical exercise is important in maintaining an efficient
immune system during ageing. However, there are few studies that test the
impact of aquatic exercise programs on the immune system. This study aims to
analyze the impact of different physical exercise programs in aquatic
environment on the systemic hematological and inflammatory markers of
community dwelling elderly. One hundred and two elderly were randomly
allocated into four groups: a continuous aerobic exercise group (AerG) (n = 25,
71.44 ± 4.84 years); an interval aerobic exercise group (IntG) (n = 28, 72.64 ±
5.22 years); a combined exercise group (ComG) (n = 29, 71.90 ± 5.67 years); a
control group (CG) (n = 20, 73.60 ± 5.25 years). The AerG, IntG and ComG
participants took part in three different aquatic exercise programs over a 28-
weeks period. The CG participants maintained their usual routines during the
same time period. Blood samples were collected from all participants in order to
access hematologic indicators, by means of cell count, and the inflammatory
profile by ELISA. After 28 weeks, significant differences were found for several
hematologic variables in the AerG, IntG and ComG with increases in mean
corpuscular hemoglobulin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobulin
concentration (MCHC), and hemoglobulin (Hb). Decreases in TNF-α levels
were found for all exercising groups. An increase in IL-10 levels, granulocytes to lymphocytes ratio (GLR) and a decrease in the TNF-α/IL 10 ratio, were found for the IntG. For the ComG decreases were also found
for the TNF-α, IL-1ß/IL-1ra ratios. The present study suggests that aquatic
exercise programs were able to improve the inflammatory profile of the
participants. Those in the exercise intervention groups showed a shift
towards lower pro-inflammatory levels while the non-exercising group
showed the opposite behaviour. The IntG and the ComG aquatic exercise programs appeared to be more effective than the AerG program in decreasing
chronic low-grade inflammation by mediating the production of higher levels of
anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, the differences found between the
exercising groups were small and may not have clinical significance.
A conservação da Emys orbicularis tem vindo a ser desenvolvida em várias zonas de Portugal, nomeadamente no Monte Barata. Nesse sentido, elaborou-se uma análise fitossociológica que poderá ser concluída com base nos dados recolhidos; análises à água que mostram que as ribeiras detêm uma boa qualidade da água; realizaram-se censos que nos permitiram depreender que a população de E. orbicularis no Monte Barata é pequena e análises dos dados meteorológicos que nos informaram sobre a atividade da espécie. Desta forma, estabelecemos possíveis ameaças e sugerimos novas medidas a adotar para que se possam criar melhores condições ao nível de habitat, alimentação e reprodução da espécie.
Dissertação de Mestrado em Comunicações Móveis apresentada à Escola Superior de Tecnologia do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco.
A educação parental é um recurso psicoeducativo, relacional e comunicacional na adaptação escolar. A entrada das crianças no ensino básico é um momento de mudanças, de emoções e anseios, para elas e para pais. Trata-se duma metodologia mista (quantitativa, qualitativa) que pretende interpretar a relação entre os comportamentos interativos e comunicativos dos pais e a adaptação dos filhos ao 1.º ano da escolaridade. Utilizámos técnicas de recolha de dados: observação participante (alunos); escala de perceção sobre competências parentais e entrevista semiestruturada (N=18 pais); notas de campo e triangulação. Confirmou-se haver uma boa comunicação entre pais-filhos, que recorrem com frequência ao diálogo para abordar situações escolares. Os pais revelam estar ‘presentes’ e preocupados, pela prática de atividades conjuntas com os filhos e pelo processo de adaptação à escola.
As instruções de segurança obrigatoriamente presentes nas bolsas dos assentos de todos os aviões comerciais, pelo seu caracter gráfico, assumiram um estatuto icónico associado à viagem aérea. Desenvolvemos a hipótese de que as suas ilustrações, expectavelmente instrutivas e precisas, construíram um discurso visual que extravasou a mera cultura aeronáutica tomando um lugar na Cultura do Design e na Cultura Popular. Desenvolveu-se uma investigação que permanecera tangencial no âmbito da nossa tese de doutoramento na qual visitámos estas (e outras) áreas muito específicas do Design para a companhia nacional TAP Air Portugal. Analisa-se agora esse espólio e reflecte-se sobre ele como um fenómeno transversal e abrangente
Relatório do Trabalho de Fim de Curso de Engenharia das Ciências Agrárias – Ramo Animal.
The European Commission has just published a communication, in order to advise the 27 state members to integrate Media Education in the curricula of all schooling levels. The objective of this initiative is to create opportunities so that students and teachers might be specific trained in order to become critical consumers and reflexive producers of media messages. This paper deals with the design, production, validation and use of the CD-Rom "Vamos fazer jornais escolares" and shows the first results of a research conducted during two years where the CD-Rom was used with students, aged 11-16, so that they could produce media messages for the school newspaper either for the printed or on-line editions.
