Logic Programming and Artificial Neural Networks in Pharmacological Screening of Schinus Essential Oils

Some plants of genus Schinus have been used in the folk medicine as topical antiseptic, digestive, purgative, diuretic, analgesic or antidepressant, and also for respiratory and urinary infections. Chemical composition of essential oils of S. molle and S. terebinthifolius had been evaluated and presented high variability according with the part of the plant studied and with the geographic and climatic regions. The pharmacological properties, namely antimicrobial, anti-tumoural and anti-inflammatory activities are conditioned by chemical composition of essential oils. Taking into account the difficulty to infer the pharmacological properties of Schinus essential oils without hard experimental approach, this work will focus on the development of a decision support system, in terms of its knowledge representation and reasoning procedures, under a formal framework based on Logic Programming, complemented with an approach to computing centered on Artificial Neural Networks and the respective Degree-of-Confidence that one has on such an occurrence.

An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia stands for a brain-based condition that makes it hard to make sense of numbers and mathematical concepts. Some adolescents with dyscalculia cannot grasp basic number concepts. They work hard to learn and memorize basic number facts. They may know what to do in mathematical classes but do not understand why they are doing it. In other words, they miss the logic behind it. However, it may be worked out in order to decrease its degree of severity. For example, disMAT, an app developed for android may help children to apply mathematical concepts, without much effort, that is turning in itself, a promising tool to dyscalculia treatment. Thus, this work focuses on the development of an Intelligent System to estimate children evidences of dyscalculia, based on data obtained on-the-fly with disMAT. The computational framework is built on top of a Logic Programming framework to Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, complemented with a Case-Based problem solving approach to computing, that allows for the handling of incomplete, unknown, or even contradictory information.

Prática de ensino supervisionada em educação pré-escolar e ensino do 1º ciclo do ensino básico: desenvolver a capacidade de resolver problemas em matemática

O presente relatório insere-se no âmbito das unidades curriculares de Prática de Ensino Supervisionada em Pré-Escolar e em 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, inseridas no Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico da Universidade de Évora. A investigação traduzida neste relatório decorreu nos dois contextos acima referidos, sendo primeiramente realizada no contexto de Educação Pré-Escolar e seguidamente no contexto de 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. O principal objetivo da investigação centra-se no desenvolvimento das capacidades de resolver problemas em matemática, tanto em crianças mais pequenas, como mais tarde no início da escolaridade obrigatória. Surgiu assim a questão orientadora da investigação: Que práticas devo realizar para contribuir para que as/os crianças/alunos consigam tornar-se bons resolvedores de problemas? Seguiram-se a esta outras três questões no sentido auxiliar a investigação: Como lidam as/os crianças/alunos com a resolução de problemas? Que estratégias utilizam as/os crianças/alunos para resolver problemas? Que representações usam as/os crianças/alunos na resolução de problemas? No desenvolvimento da investigação foi realizada uma sequência didática de tarefas matemáticas de exploração de resolução de problemas onde foram recolhidos os dados para uma posterior análise, tendo em conta não só os objetivos da investigação como os referenciais teóricos. Concluiu-se que a metodologia utilizada desenvolveu a capacidade de resolver problemas dos estudantes, ou seja, a exploração de problemas utilizando diferentes estratégias e representações, tal como a partilha de conhecimentos e a comunicação matemática, são ferramentas essenciais para uma intervenção eficaz no que concerne à resolução de problemas; Supervised Teaching Practice in Preschool Education and Teaching of the Primary School: Developing the capacities to solve problems in mathematics Abstract: The present report is inserted in the context of the curricular unit Supervised Teaching Practice in Preschool Education and in Primary School, integrated in Master in Preschool Education and Teaching Primary School at University of Évora. This research was held in two different contexts, the first one was performed in a pre-school classroom, and later the second one in classroom of first year of Primary School. The main objective of the research was focused on the development of the capacities to solve mathematical problems either in small children, or later in the beginning of compulsory schooling. As so, the question guiding this investigation emerged: Which practices should I perform to help children/students become better problem solvers? After this, other three questions came up in order to help the research: How do children/students deal with solving problems? What strategies do children/students use to solve problems? What representations do children/students use to solve problems? Throughout this research a didactic intervention consisting in a sequence of mathematical tasks to explore the resolution of problems was performed, allowing data collection for a latter analysis, based not only on the objectives and initial research questions, but also on theoretical approaches consulted. We came to the conclusion that the ability of students to solve problems was improved with the methodology used in this research, meaning that, challenging students with problems using different strategies and representations, such as knowledge sharing and mathematical communication, are essential tools for effective intervention concerning problem solving.

Plataforma interactiva para edifícios inteligentes com controlo preditivo

Esta dissertação desenvolve uma plataforma de controlo interactiva para edifícios inteligentes através de um sistema SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition). Este sistema SCADA integra diferentes tipos de informações provenientes das várias tecnologias presentes em edifícios modernos (controlo da ventilação, temperatura, iluminação, etc.). A estratégia de controlo desenvolvida implementa um controlador em cascada hierárquica onde os "loops" interiores são executados pelos PLC's locais (Programmable Logic Controller), e o "loop" exterior é gerido pelo sistema SCADA centralizado, que interage com a rede local de PLC's. Nesta dissertação é implementado um controlador preditivo na plataforma SCADA centralizada. São apresentados testes efectuados para o controlo da temperatura e luminosidade de salas com uma grande área. O controlador preditivo desenvolvido tenta optimizar a satisfação dos utilizadores, com base nas preferências introduzidas em várias interfaces distribuídas, sujeito às restrições de minimização do desperdício de energia. De forma a executar o controlador preditivo na plataforma SCADA foi desenvolvido um canal de comunicação para permitir a comunicação entre a aplicação SCADA e a aplicação MATLAB, onde o controlador preditivo é executado. ABSTRACT: This dissertation develops an operational control platform for intelligent buildings using a SCADA system (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition). This SCADA system integrates different types of information coming from the several technologies present in modem buildings (control of ventilation, temperature, illumination, etc.). The developed control strategy implements a hierarchical cascade controller where inner loops are performed by local PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller), and the outer loop is managed by the centralized SCADA system, which interacts with the entire local PLC network. ln this dissertation a Predictive Controller is implemented at the centralized SCADA platform. Tests applied to the control of temperature and luminosity in huge­area rooms are presented. The developed Predictive Controller tries to optimize the satisfaction of user explicit preferences coming from several distributed user-interfaces, subjected to the constraints of energy waste minimization. ln order to run the Predictive Controller at the SCADA platform a communication channel was developed to allow communication between the SCADA application and the MATLAB application where the Predictive Controller runs.