An Extension of Estimation of Domain of Attraction for Fractional Order Linear System Subject to Saturation Control

This paper employs the Lyapunov direct method for the stability analysis of fractional order linear systems subject to input saturation. A new stability condition based on saturation function is adopted for estimating the domain of attraction via ellipsoid approach. To further improve this estimation, the auxiliary feedback is also supported by the concept of stability region. The advantages of the proposed method are twofold: (1) it is straightforward to handle the problem both in analysis and design because of using Lyapunov method, (2) the estimation leads to less conservative results. A numerical example illustrates the feasibility of the proposed method.

Human activity recognition for an intelligent knee orthosis

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Biomédica

Extension and patterning of the vertebrate body

Dissertation presented to obrain the Ph.D degree in Biology. Developmental Biology

Caracterização de múltiplos polimorfismos de Pneumocystis Jirovecii por multiplex-PCR/Single base extension

Pneumocystis jirovecii é conhecido por causar infecções específicas no aparelho respiratório de seus hospedeiros, principalmente em doentes imunocomprometidos, manifestando-se por uma pneumonia grave e por vezes fatal, normalmente designada por pneumonia por Pneumocystis. A caracterização da diversidade genética de P. jirovecii tem demonstrado que determinados polimorfismos de base única poderão ser reconhecidos como marcadores moleculares de eleição para o estudo da distribuição geográfica, vias de transmissão, resistência/susceptibilidade a fármacos, factores de virulência e genética populacional de subtipos genéticos. Este estudo teve como objectivo a caracterização de polimorfismos de P. jirovecii, através da metodologia PCR multiplex/Extensão de base única (do inglês single base extension), com a principal finalidade de constatar eventuais associações entre polimorfismos de base única, genótipos multilocus, e dados clínicos e demográficos da infecção. Sessenta e seis espécimes pulmonares, previamente considerados positivos para P. jirovecii, obtidos entre 2001 e 2012, a partir de doentes portugueses imunocomprometidos, foram seleccionados de forma aleatória para este estudo multilocus. PCR multiplex foi utilizada para a amplificação simultânea de três regiões genómicas: subunidade grande do rRNA mitocondrial, superóxido dismutase e dihidropteroato sintetase. Cinco polimorfismos de base única, previamente correlacionados com parâmetros da doença, foram genotipados por extensão de base única: mt85, SOD110, SOD215, DHPS165 e DHPS171. Um total de 330 polimorfismos de base única e 29 genótipos multilocus putativos de P. jirovecii foram identificados e caracterizados nos espécimes pulmonares analisados. Os padrões de distribuição dos polimorfismos foram analisados, sendo considerada a variação temporal e/ou geográfica das suas formas alélicas. Constatou-se grande diversidade genotípica entre os isolados de P. jirovecii que poderá ter influência a nível epidemiológico. Foram observadas associações estatísticas entre mt85/genótipos multilocus e parâmetros demográficos e clínicos. A correlação mais importante verificou-se entre mt85C e cargas parasitárias baixas a moderadas, enquanto mt85T foi associado com cargas parasitárias altas; MLG5, MLG9 e MLG13 foram associados com cargas parasitárias baixas, moderadas e altas, respectivamente. Tais associações demonstram que potenciais marcadores moleculares da infecção por P. jirovecii poderão existir e que polimorfismos/genótipos específicos poderão determinar perfis epidemiológicos da pneumonia por Pneumocystis. A análise genética cruzada permitiu verificar associações entre polimorfismos de base única. Os polimorfismos SOD110T e SOD215C, SOD110C e SOD215T, DHPS165A e DHPS171C, DHPS165G e DHPS171T foram associados estatisticamente. Os genótipos multilocus mais prevalentes foram considerados para o teste recombinatório d1. Dois genótipos multilocus (MLG7 e MLG9) foram observados com elevada frequência, e a análise genética indicou que estes se encontravam sobre-representados na população de P. jirovecii estudada. Estas evidências indicam que o fenómeno de desequilíbrio de ligação e a propagação clonal de subtipos genéticos é frequente, considerando que a espécie P. jirovecii poderá ser representada por uma população com estrutura epidémica. O presente trabalho confirmou a importância do estudo de polimorfismos em P. jirovecii, sugerindo que a caracterização multilocus poderá fornecer informação relevante para a compreensão dos padrões, causas e controlo da infecção, melhorando assim a investigação deste importante patogéneo.

Millennium BCP- The almond hill credit extension proposal

This Work Project is a case study on the credit lending process and loan pricing policy of Millennium bcp, one of the main Portuguese banks. The goal of the case study is to provide an opportunity to understand the above mentioned process and policy in a major bank and to explore the issues and interests at play when a relevant credit decision must be taken. I would like to thank Dr. José Miguel Pessanha without whom this project would not have been possible.

Product extension services deployment platform

Due to the progresses made in the branch of embedded technologies, manufacturers are becoming able to pack their shop floor level manufacturing resources with even more complex functionalities. This technological progression is radically changing the way production systems are designed and deployed, as well as, monitored and controlled. The dissemination of smart devices inside production processes confers new visibility on the production system while enabling for a more efficient and effective management of the operations. By turning the current manufacturing resources functionalities into services based on a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), in order to expose them as a service to the user, the binomial manufacturing resource/service will push the entire manufacturing enterprise visibility to another level while enabling the global optimization of the operations and processes of a production system while, at the same time, supporting its accommodation to the operational spike easily and with reduced impact on production. The present work implements a Cloud Manufacturing infrastructure for achieving the resource/service value-added i.e. to facilitate the creation of services that are the composition of currently available atomic services. In this context, manufacturing resource virtualization (i.e. formalization of resources capabilities into services accessible inside and outside the enterprise) and semantic representation/description are the pillars for achieving resource service composition. In conclusion, the present work aims to act on the manufacturing resource layer where physical resources and shop floor capabilities are going to be provided to the user as a SaaS (Software as a Service) and/or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

Isokinetic assessment of the flexor-extensor balance of the knee in athletes with total rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament

The purpose of this study was to assess the flexor-extensor group of muscles of the knee in young athletes diagnosed with a total rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Eighteen knees of 18 athletes (14 men and 4 women) with an average age of 21.6 years (range 16-32 years) were assessed with a Cybex 6000 model isokinetic apparatus. The average interval between occurrence of the injury and assessment was 10.2 months (range 2 - 48 months). There was an associated meniscal injury in eight of the knees. Athletes with any other kind of associated injury, limitation, or blockage of the movement of the joint, significant pain during the exam, or interval between injury and exam of less than two months were excluded from the study. The parameters studied were the peak torque-velocity and flexor-extensor relationships at the constant angular velocities of 60°/sec and 240°/sec. Previous warming-up was done by means of an ergometric bicycle and adaptation with 3 submaximal repetitions. The contra-lateral side, which presented no injury, was used as control. Peak torque (PT) at the constant velocity of 60°/sec was greater than that at 240°/sec for knees with and without injuries. However, there was no significant difference between the injured and uninjured sides at 60°/sec or at 240°/sec. The average value for the flexor-extensor relationship at 60°/sec on the injured was 60% (( 6), compared to 57% (( 10) on the contra-lateral side. At 240°/sec, the average value was 75% ((10) on the injured side, and 65% ((12) on the contra-lateral side. In conclusion, despite the complete rupture of the ACL of one knee, the average values for the flexor-extensor relationship were similar on the injured and uninjured sides at the velocity of 60°/sec. As the velocity increased, an increase in the values for the flexor-extensor relationship of the knee also occurred, indicating a tendency of the performance of the flexor muscle group to approach that of the extensor muscle group, and this tendency was more pronounced on the side of the injury.

Unusual abdominal tumors with intracardiac extension. Two cases with successful surgical resection

Abdominal tumors that can grow through vascular lumen and spread to the right heart are rare. Although these tumors have different histologic aspects, they may cause similar abdominal and cardiac symptoms and are a serious risk factor for pulmonary embolism and sudden death when they reach the right atrium and tricuspid valve. The best treatment is radical surgical resection of the entire tumor using cardiopulmonary bypass with or without deep hypothermia and total circulatory arrest. We report the cases of two patients, the first with leiomyosarcoma of the inferior vena cava and the other with intravenous leiomyomatosis of the uterus that showed intravascular growth up to right atrium and ventricle, who underwent successful radical resection in a one-stage procedure with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. We discuss the clinical and histologic aspects and imaging diagnosis and review the literature.

Isokinetic dynamometry of knee flexors and extensors: comparative study among non-athletes, jumper athletes and runner athletes

Participation in intensive sports activities leads to muscular specializations that may generate alterations in involved articular forces and cause static (posture) and dynamic changes (alterations of articular stability, coordination, etc.). Prevention of injury requires specific functional muscular evaluation in all athletes and for any kind of sport. OBJECTIVE: To dynamically evaluate, through isokinetic tests, the peak torque, total work, and average power of the knee flexor and extensor muscles of jumper and runner athletes and compare them to those of a non-athletic population, evaluating dominance and balance between agonistic and antagonistic muscle groups. RESULTS: In the non-athlete group, we noted a higher asymmetry between the dominant and nondominant members. The jumpers had the highest values of the evaluated parameters of all groups, whereas parameters for the runners were intermediate between non-athletes and jumpers.

A GIS extension model to calculate urban heat island intensity based on urban geometry

This paper presents a simulation model, which was incorporated into a Geographic Information System (GIS), in order to calculate the maximum intensity of urban heat islands based on urban geometry data. The method-ology of this study stands on a theoretical-numerical basis (Okeâ s model), followed by the study and selection of existing GIS tools, the design of the calculation model, the incorporation of the resulting algorithm into the GIS platform and the application of the tool, developed as exemplification. The developed tool will help researchers to simulate UHI in different urban scenarios.

Postharvest shelf life extension of blueberries using a chitosan-based edible coating containing aloe vera juice

Poster

Range extension of Centronycetris maximiliani (Mammalia: Chiroptera) for southern Amazonia

Bat species of the genus Centronycteris are some of the rarest Neotropical Emballonuridae and fewer than 50 specimens have been deposited in scientific collections. The aim of this study is to extend the distribution of Centronycteris maximiliani. Three C. maximiliani specimens were recorded in the Brazilian Amazonia, providing the first record of the species for the state of Rondônia, the southernmost record of the species for the Amazon biome in Brazil, and an additional record for the state of Pará. Although these new records of C. maximiliani reinforce the idea that this species is widely distributed throughout the Amazon biome, its low capture rate reflects the rarity of this species, since only three specimens were collected during three to four year field effort.

Cardiac extension of primary mediastinal seminoma compressing the right ventricular outflow tract

We report the case of a 33-year-old male with primary seminoma of the anterior mediastinum with initial clinical manifestations suggestive of heart disease.

Galois extension of CP-Graded ring extensions

In this paper, we investigate galois theory of CP-graded ring extensions. In particular, we generalize some galois results given in [1, 2] and, without restriction to nor graded fields nor torsion free of the grade groups, we show that some results of graded field extensions given in [3] hold.