Contribution towards understanding the categorisation of landforms.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Towards a unified European electricity market: The contribution of data-mining to support realistic simulation studies

Worldwide electricity markets have been evolving into regional and even continental scales. The aim at an efficient use of renewable based generation in places where it exceeds the local needs is one of the main reasons. A reference case of this evolution is the European Electricity Market, where countries are connected, and several regional markets were created, each one grouping several countries, and supporting transactions of huge amounts of electrical energy. The continuous transformations electricity markets have been experiencing over the years create the need to use simulation platforms to support operators, regulators, and involved players for understanding and dealing with this complex environment. This paper focuses on demonstrating the advantage that real electricity markets data has for the creation of realistic simulation scenarios, which allow the study of the impacts and implications that electricity markets transformations will bring to the participant countries. A case study using MASCEM (Multi-Agent System for Competitive Electricity Markets) is presented, with a scenario based on real data, simulating the European Electricity Market environment, and comparing its performance when using several different market mechanisms.

Contribution to the laboratory diagnosis of human cryptosporidiosis

Human cryptosporidiosis is an infection caused by Cryptosporidium spp, a coccidial protozoan of emergencial pathogenicity and responsible for severe and prostrating watery diarrhea, mainly in immunocompromised patients. Smears of stools submitted to concentration and staining by carbol fuchsin technique has been used in our laboratory as a diagnostic procedure for cryptosporidiosis. The long time observing the smears in the microscope due to the small size of the forms and the low contrast of the staining led us to introduce some modifications in the original protocol for the acid-fast staining. The smears were treated with the carbol fuchsin solution for 3 minutes as recommended by LENNETTE et al., 1985 and the solution of the ethyl alcohol 70%-chloride acid 0.5% was used instead of the ethyl alcohol-sulfuric acid 5% recommended by HENRIKSEN & POHLENZ, 1981. Smears were treated with the discoloration solution for 2 minutes. These modifications promoted a better washing out of the excess of carbol fuchsin therefore increasing the dye efficiency. In such conditions, the visualization of protozoan oocysts on the slides examined became easier. They were observed by the contrast of their intense pink-reddish pigmentation against the blue background. It's worthwhile to emphasize that these modifications offer advantages when time and accuracy are concerned.

Characterization of the portuguese SSS into the Europe: a contribution

Nowadays, Short Sea Shipping (SSS) is an essential part in European multi-modal transport system, representing approximately thirty-seven per cent of intra-Community transactions in tonnes per kilometre (tkm). Since 2001, the European Shortsea Network (ESN) in partnership with the short-sea Promotion Centres (SPC) of each Member State of the European Union (EU) have managed to make significant progress in the promotion and development of this mode of transport. This paper aims to assess and analyse the SSS of containerised goods in Portugal and its articulation with other EU routes and also other transport modes. The current SSS infrastructure, how the sector is organized, as well as the future perspectives for the sector are also analysed for the case of Portugal. The analyses are based on a survey that was carried out on the logistics operators, navigation agents, freight forwarders, and the leading imports and exports manufacturers in Portugal.

Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in a low-income community in the São Paulo municipality, SP, Brazil

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonoses worldwide. The seroprevalence for T. gondii in human population from Brazil might range from 40 to 80%. The aim of this paper was to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in children from age one to 15 living in a low socioeconomic community, named community of Jardim São Remo in the year of 2002. The community is located in the West area of São Paulo municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 110 (32.4%, CI 95%: 27.5 - 37.7) of the 339 children tested with indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. The titration of the samples revealed 29 children with serum titer equal to 16, 14 children with 32, 18 children with 64, 21 children with 128, 20 children with 256 and eight children with serum titer > 512. The age dependence of the prevalence of T. gondii infection and the association between seroprevalence for T. gondii and seroprevalence for T. canis suggest that the infection is chiefly postnatal. Seroconversion in infant population of community Jardim São Remo occurs in children as young as two years old, earlier than in the children attended at health centers of São Paulo city. The seroprevalence of T. gondii in children from Jardim São Remo was compared to the prevalence in children from other urban centers of Brazil.

Espresso beverages of pure origin coffee: Mineral characterization, contribution for mineral intake and geographical discrimination

Espresso coffee beverages prepared from pure origin roasted ground coffees from the major world growing regions (Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, India, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Cuba, Timor, Mussulo and China) were characterized and compared in terms of their mineral content. Regular consumption of one cup of espresso contributes to a daily mineral intake varying from 0.002% (sodium; Central America) to 8.73% (potassium; Asia). The mineral profiles of the espresso beverages revealed significant inter- and intra-continental differences. South American pure origin coffees are on average richer in the analyzed elements except for calcium, while samples from Central America have generally lower mineral amounts (except for manganese). Manganese displayed significant differences (p < 0.05) among the countries of each characterized continent. Intercontinental and inter-country discrimination between the major world coffee producers were achieved by applying canonical discriminant analysis. Manganese and calcium were found to be the best chemical descriptors for origin.

Buildings Sustainability: The HVAC Contribution

A very important part of the globally produced energy is consumed in buildings, being an important share frequently used in the HVAC systems. These ones are increasing both in performance and in complexity, taking advantage from the use of the recent advances in mechanical and power electronic devices, particularly in the speed variation field. However the improved efficiency only occurs while the HVAC unit is working in the conditions specified by the manufacturer, otherwise the energy consumption raises to values considerably higher than the nominal ones. The adequate maintenance enforces the system to run on its nominal performance and the contrary has undesirable impact both in the performance and in the system expected life time. Therefore, HVAC field maintenance assumes a very important role in the global building sustainability concept. This work presents some results of an incorrect use of HVAC and the associated electric energy overconsumption that can assume values 50% higher than those that occur when the installation is operated according to the adequate maintenance plan.

Human toxocariasis: contribution by Brazilian researchers

In the present paper the main aspects of the natural history of human infection by Toxocara larvae that occasionally result in the occurrence of visceral and/or ocular larva migrans syndrome were reviewed. The contribution by Brazilian researchers was emphasized, especially the staff of the Tropical Medicine Institute of São Paulo (IMT).

Modeling assembly program with constraints. A contribution to WCET problem

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Lógica Computacional

Plano estratégico “Empowering Lab ESEIG”

Os jovens ao longo do seu percurso escolar têm aspirações e expetativas elevadas quanto ao valor de empregabilidade dos diplomas a que tiveram acesso em todos os graus de ensino. Contudo, no recente contexto de crise económica, essas aspirações e expetativas socialmente nutridas pela escola e pela família têm sido em grande medida frustradas pelas crescentes dificuldades que os jovens portugueses de hoje têm vivido nos seus processos de inserção profissional. A nível individual, um jovem que passe um longo período inativo tem grandes probabilidades de sofrer de baixa autoestima, exclusão social ou de um “wage scar”, isto é, de no futuro ter um rendimento abaixo do rendimento médio de pessoas com formação e experiência equivalentes além de desenvolverem uma atitude passiva e falta de participação social, o que no longo prazo acaba por ter implicações negativas para a sociedade como um todo. Conscientes desta realidade e sabendo que as incubadoras de negócios podem transmitir confiança à comunidade financeira e apoiar as startups, promovendo uma cultura de empreendedorismo e agindo como um catalisador para o desenvolvimento de estruturas de suporte de negócios mais amplas, partimos para o estudo da incubação de negócios com o intuito de traçar um plano estratégico para a Escola Superior de Estudos Industriais e de Gestão (ESEIG) que permitisse desenvolver a cultura empreendedora da sua comunidade e por esta via dar o seu contributo para a resolução da crise económica que o país atravessa. Começamos por fazer um enquadramento teórico da incubação de negócios e rapidamente percebemos que, sendo a ESEIG uma instituição de ensino superior, era importante incluir no estudo os conceitos de empreendedorismo e inovação e perceber ao nível teórico como funciona a relação Universidade-Empresa. De seguida, fomos para o “terreno” e percebemos que a solução para este desafio passaria por capacitar os alunos da ESEIG com as competências empresariais e empreendedoras necessárias para o desenvolvimento de qualquer empreendimento autonomamente. Faltava agora perceber qual a melhor forma de concretizar este ambicioso objetivo. Após um pouco mais de estudo, percebemos que, a paixão está no centro de empreendedorismo juntamente com outras dimensões afetivas e emocionais e pode estimular a criatividade e o reconhecimento de novos padrões de informação fundamental para a descoberta e exploração de oportunidades promissoras. Por sua vez, a alegria local (escolas, cidades, regiões, países) está associada a uma maior atividade empreendedora, o humor e sentimentos positivos, bem como a satisfação de vida geram efeitos benéficos, como melhor desempenho nas tarefas e produtividade, evolução na carreira e sucesso pessoal e maior propensão para assumir riscos. Percebemos então que é necessário desenvolver uma cultura de positividade, pelo que, sugerimos a implementação do novo quadro conceptual PROSPER (Positivity; Relationships; Outcomes; Strengths; Purpose; Engagement; Resilience) que tem o potencial de ser usado como uma ferramenta organizacional para a implementação dos sete principais componentes de bem-estar. Cientes de que o objetivo final é aumentar a intenção empreendedora dos estudantes, bem como o número efetivo de empreendedores, definimos como objetivos, promover o valor do empreendedorismo na criação de oportunidades e no desenvolvimento das competências dos estudantes (Engaging), fornecer aos estudantes oportunidades de aprendizagem empresarial (Empowering) e apoiar os estudantes na criação e no desenvolvimento de negócios (Equipping). Neste sentido, sugerimos diversas ações que materializam estes objetivos. Para finalizar, utilizamos um Lean Canvas com o intuito de concretizar a nossa proposta estratégica para ESEIG, que culmina com a criação do Empowering Lab ESEIG.

HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS 1 (HTLV-1) AND HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS 2 (HTLV-2): GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH TRENDS AND COLLABORATION NETWORKS (1989-2012)

Publications are often used as a measure of research work success. Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type 1 and 2 are human retroviruses, which were discovered in the early 1980s, and it is estimated that 15-20 million people are infected worldwide. This article describes a bibliometric review and a coauthorship network analysis of literature on HTLV indexed in PubMed in a 24-year period. A total of 7,564 documents were retrieved, showing a decrease in the number of documents from 1996 to 2007. HTLV manuscripts were published in 1,074 journals. Japan and USA were the countries with the highest contribution in this field (61%) followed by France (8%). Production ranking changed when the number of publications was normalized by population (Dominican Republic and Japan), by gross domestic product (Guinea-Bissau and Gambia), and by gross national income per capita (Brazil and Japan). The present study has shed light on some of the defining features of scientific collaboration performed by HTLV research community, such as the existence of core researchers responsible for articulating the development of research in the area, facilitating wider collaborative relationships and the integration of new authors in the research groups.

“Upselling,” a Peculiar Financial Practice : An Anthropological Contribution to the Deconstruction of a Case Study

Trabalho de Projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Antropologia dos Direitos Humanos e Movimentos Sociais.