Contribution of the evaluation strategy and the use of hearing protection for the uncertainty associated with occupational exposure to noise

Doctoral Thesis for PhD degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering

Recommendations on quality control and quality assurance in cervical cytology

Objective: We aimed to critically evaluate the importance of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) strategies in the routine work of uterine cervix cytology. Study Design: We revised all the main principles of QC and QA that are already being implemented worldwide and then discussed the positive aspects and limitations of these as well as proposing alternatives when pertinent. Results: A literature review was introduced after highlighting the main historical revisions, and then a critical evaluation of the principal innovations in screening programmes was conducted, with recommendations being postulated. Conclusions: Based on the analysed data, QC and QA are two essential arms that support the quality of a screening programme.

Development of a model for occupational risk acceptance criteria definition in industrial settings

Doctoral Dissertation for PhD degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering

Modelação de processos num serviço de uma organização de ensino superior

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Towards effective control of P2P traffic aggregates in network infrastructures

Nowadays, many P2P applications proliferate in the Internet. The attractiveness of many of these systems relies on the collaborative approach used to exchange large resources without the dependence and associated constraints of centralized approaches where a single server is responsible to handle all the requests from the clients. As consequence, some P2P systems are also interesting and cost-effective approaches to be adopted by content-providers and other Internet players. However, there are several coexistence problems between P2P applications and In- ternet Service Providers (ISPs) due to the unforeseeable behavior of P2P traffic aggregates in ISP infrastructures. In this context, this work proposes a collaborative P2P/ISP system able to underpin the development of novel Traffic Engi- neering (TE) mechanisms contributing for a better coexistence between P2P applications and ISPs. Using the devised system, two TE methods are described being able to estimate and control the impact of P2P traffic aggregates on the ISP network links. One of the TE methods allows that ISP administrators are able to foresee the expected impact that a given P2P swarm will have in the underlying network infrastructure. The other TE method enables the definition of ISP friendly P2P topologies, where specific network links are protected from P2P traffic. As result, the proposed system and associated mechanisms will contribute for improved ISP resource management tasks and to foster the deployment of innovative ISP-friendly systems.