Designing and implementing a performance measurement system in Auto Ribeiro, Lda.

In any business it is very important to measure the performance and it helps to select key information to make better decisions on time. This research focuses on the design and implementation of a performance measurement system in a Portuguese medium size firm operating in the specialized health care transformation vehicles industry. From the evidence that outputs from Auto Ribeiro’s current information system is misaligned with the company’s objectives and strategy, this research tries to solve this business problem through the development of a Balanced Scorecard analysis, although there are some issues, which deserve further development.

Cylindrical spinning rotor gauge — A new approach for vacuum measurement

The spinning rotor gauge (SRG) is one of the most interesting vacuum gauges ever made, covering a pressure range of over seven orders of magnitude, with minimal gas interference (no pumping, ionization or heating of the measured gas), and a great stability of less than 1% drift per year. But despite its remarkable properties, apparently the SRG has not been further developed since the eighties, when it gained commercial interest. In this context, this dissertation aims at providing a starting point for a new line of investigation regarding this instrument, focused on the rotor itself. A brief study of different rotor geometries is provided, including a comparison between a cylindrical rotor and a spherical one. A cylindrical spinning rotor gauge (CSRG) is then proposed, based on the original SRG, but requiring a completely new lateral damping system. A prototype was built and tested against a non calibrated reference gauge.

Antimonial drugs entrapped into phosphatidylserine liposomes: physicochemical evaluation and antileishmanial activity

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania that resides mainly in mononuclear phagocytic system tissues. Pentavalent antimonials are the main treatment option, although these drugs have toxic side effects and high resistance rates. A potentially alternative and more effective therapeutic strategy is to use liposomes as carriers of the antileishmanial agents. The aims of this study were to develop antimonial drugs entrapped into phosphatidylserine liposomes and to analyze their biological and physicochemical characteristics. METHODS: Liposomes containing meglumine antimoniate (MA) or pentavalent antimony salt (Sb) were obtained through filter extrusion (FEL) and characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Promastigotes of Leishmania infantum were incubated with the drugs and the viability was determined with a tetrazolium dye (MTT assay). The effects of these drugs against intracellular amastigotes were also evaluated by optical microscopy, and mammalian cytotoxicity was determined by an MTT assay. RESULTS: Liposomes had an average diameter of 162nm. MA-FEL showed inhibitory activity against intracellular L. infantum amastigotes, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.9μg/mL, whereas that of MA was 60μg/mL. Sb-FEL showed an IC50 value of 0.2μg/mL, whereas that of free Sb was 9μg/mL. MA-FEL and Sb-FEL had strong in vitro activity that was 63-fold and 39-fold more effective than their respective free drugs. MA-FEL tested at a ten-times higher concentration than Sb-FEL did not show cytotoxicity to mammalian cells, resulting in a higher selectivity index. CONCLUSIONS: Antimonial drug-containing liposomes are more effective against Leishmania-infected macrophages than the non-liposomal drugs.

Comparison of the fluorescent polarization (TDx) and the enzymatic competitive (EMIT 2000) immune assays for the measurement of cyclosporin A blood concentration

Evaluation of Cyclosporin A (CyA) blood concentration is imperative in solid organ transplantation in order to achieve maximal immunosuppression with the least side effects. We compared the results of whole blood concentrations of CyA in 50 blood samples simultaneously evaluated by the fluorescent polarization immune assay (TDx) and the enzymatic competitive immune assay (EMIT 2000). There was a strong correlation between both kits for any range of CyA blood concentration (R=0.99, p<0.001). The within-run and between-days coefficient of variation were less than 4% for both assays. The cost for each CyA measurement was 50% lower for the EMIT assay when compared to the TDx assay. We concluded that the EMIT is as accurate as the TDx in measuring CyA blood concentration and has the advantage of a lower cost, as well as the possibility of widespread access to the EMIT methodology in contrast to the TDx equipment, allowing the laboratory to perform several routines within a working day.

A behavioral perspective on the effects of using performance measurement systems in the companies: Evidence from a case study

The effects of PMSs on the people’s behaviour represent a high degree of relevance in the context of an organization performance and success. Thus, motivational and behavioural consequences of performance measurements are far from being totally understood (Franco-Santos et al., 2012). This work project (WP) purposes going further regarding the consequences/effects on people’s behaviour of using PMSs in organizations. The researcher conducted 11 interviews to managers during a nine-month internship as a controller in a Portuguese multi-national company. The evidence from this WP suggests that the way how managers understand a PMS determines a lot the way how they behave. Data also supports that PMSs influences in several ways motivation, perceptions, participation and job-related stress of managers.

Toxicity measurement techniques for building materials with wastes

The innovative Horizon 2020 program sponsored by the European Union (EU) aims to promote and develop processes of waste integration in construction materials. However, several potential health hazards caused by building materials have been identified and, there-fore, there is an ongoing need to develop new recycling methods for hazardous wastes and effi-cient barriers in order to prevent toxic releases from the new construction solutions with wastes. This paper presents an overview that focus on two main aspects: the identification of the health risks related to radioactivity and heavy metals present in building materials and identification of these toxic substances in new construction solutions that contain recycled wastes. Different waste materials were selected and distinct methodologies of toxicity evaluation are presented to analyse the potential hazardous, the feasibility of using those wastes and the achievement of op-timal construction solutions involving wastes.

Relationship between galactomannan structure and physicochemical properties of films produced thereof

In this work five sources of galactomannans, Adenanthera pavonina, Cyamopsis tetragonolobus, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Ceratonia siliqua and Sophora japonica, presenting mannose/galactose ratios of 1.3, 1.7, 2.9, 3.4 and 5.6, respectively, were used to produce galactomannan-based films. These films were characterized in terms of: water vapour, oxygen and carbon dioxide permeabilities (WVP, O 2 P and CO 2 P); moisture content, water solubility, contact angle, elongation-at-break (EB), tensile strength (TS) and glass transition temperature (T g ). Results showed that films properties vary according to the galactomannan source (different galactose distribution) and their mannose/galactose ratio. Water affinity of mannan and galactose chains and the intermolecular interactions of mannose backbone should also be considered being factors that affect films properties. This work has shown that knowing mannose/galactose ratio of galactomannans is possible to foresee galactomannan-based edible films properties.

Jet energy measurement and its systematic uncertainty in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The jet energy scale (JES) and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector using proton–proton collision data with a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb −1 . Jets are reconstructed from energy deposits forming topological clusters of calorimeter cells using the anti- kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0.4 or R=0.6 , and are calibrated using MC simulations. A residual JES correction is applied to account for differences between data and MC simulations. This correction and its systematic uncertainty are estimated using a combination of in situ techniques exploiting the transverse momentum balance between a jet and a reference object such as a photon or a Z boson, for 20≤pjetT<1000 GeV and pseudorapidities |η|<4.5 . The effect of multiple proton–proton interactions is corrected for, and an uncertainty is evaluated using in situ techniques. The smallest JES uncertainty of less than 1 % is found in the central calorimeter region ( |η|<1.2 ) for jets with 55≤pjetT<500 GeV . For central jets at lower pT , the uncertainty is about 3 %. A consistent JES estimate is found using measurements of the calorimeter response of single hadrons in proton–proton collisions and test-beam data, which also provide the estimate for pjetT>1 TeV. The calibration of forward jets is derived from dijet pT balance measurements. The resulting uncertainty reaches its largest value of 6 % for low- pT jets at |η|=4.5 . Additional JES uncertainties due to specific event topologies, such as close-by jets or selections of event samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks or gluons, are also discussed. The magnitude of these uncertainties depends on the event sample used in a given physics analysis, but typically amounts to 0.5–3 %.

Measurement of the top pair production cross-section in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions using kinematic information in the lepton+jets final state with ATLAS

A measurement is presented of the tt¯ inclusive production cross section in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s√=8  TeV using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement was performed in the lepton+jets final state using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3  fb−1. The cross section was obtained using a likelihood discriminant fit and b-jet identification was used to improve the signal-to-background ratio. The inclusive tt¯ production cross section was measured to be 260±1(stat)+22−23(stat)±8(lumi)±4(beam)  pb assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV, in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of 253+13−15  pb. The tt¯→(e,μ)+jets production cross section in the fiducial region determined by the detector acceptance is also reported.

Measurement of Spin Correlation in Top-Antitop Quark Events and Search for Top Squark Pair Production in pp Collisions at s√=8 TeV Using the ATLAS Detector

A measurement of spin correlation in tt¯ production is presented using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. The correlation between the top and antitop quark spins is extracted from dilepton tt¯ events by using the difference in azimuthal angle between the two charged leptons in the laboratory frame. In the helicity basis the measured degree of correlation corresponds to Ahelicity=0.38±0.04, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. A search is performed for pair production of top squarks with masses close to the top quark mass decaying to predominantly right-handed top quarks and a light neutralino, the lightest supersymmetric particle. Top squarks with masses between the top quark mass and 191 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.

Measurement of the transverse polarization of Λ and Λ ¯ hyperons produced in proton-proton collisions at s =7TeV using the ATLAS detector

The transverse polarization of Λ and Λ¯ hyperons produced in proton--proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is measured. The analysis uses 760 μb−1 of minimum bias data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in the year 2010. The measured transverse polarization averaged over Feynman xF from 5×10−5 to 0.01 and transverse momentum pT from 0.8 to 15 GeV is −0.010±0.005(stat)±0.004(syst) for Λ and 0.002±0.006(stat)±0.004(syst) for Λ¯. It is also measured as a function of xF and pT, but no significant dependence on these variables is observed. Prior to this measurement, the polarization was measured at fixed-target experiments with center-of-mass energies up to about 40 GeV. The ATLAS results are compatible with the extrapolation of a fit from previous measurements to the xF range covered by this mesurement.

Observation and measurement of Higgs boson decays to WW∗ with the ATLAS detector

We report the observation of Higgs boson decays to WW∗ based on an excess over background of 6.1 standard deviations in the dilepton final state, where the Standard Model expectation is 5.8 standard deviations. Evidence for the vector-boson fusion (VBF) production process is obtained with a significance of 3.2 standard deviations. The results are obtained from a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 25 pb−1 from s√=7 and 8 TeV pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. For a Higgs boson mass of 125.36 GeV, the ratio of the measured value to the expected value of the total production cross section times branching fraction is 1.09+0.16−0.15 (stat.)+0.17−0.14 (syst.). The corresponding ratios for the gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion production mechanisms are 1.02±0.19 (stat.)+0.22−0.18 (syst.) and 1.27+0.44−0.40 (stat.)+0.30−0.21 (syst.), respectively. At s√=8 TeV, the total production cross sections are measured to be σ(gg→ H→WW∗)=4.6±0.9(stat.)+0.8−0.7(syst.)pb and σ(VBF H→WW∗)=0.51+0.17−0.15(stat.)+0.13−0.08(syst.)pb. The fiducial cross section is determined for the gluon-fusion process in exclusive final states with zero or one associated jet.

Observation of top-quark pair production in association with a photon and measurement of the t t ¯ γ production cross section in pp collisions at s =7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search is performed for top-quark pairs (tt¯) produced together with a photon (γ) with transverse momentum >20 GeV using a sample of tt¯ candidate events in final states with jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.59 fb−1 of proton--proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In total 140 and 222 tt¯γ candidate events are observed in the electron and muon channels, to be compared to the expectation of 79±26 and 120±39 non-tt¯γ background events respectively. The production of tt¯γ events is observed with a significance of 5.3 standard deviations away from the null hypothesis. The tt¯γ production cross section times the branching ratio (BR) of the single-lepton decay channel is measured in a fiducial kinematic region within the ATLAS acceptance. The measured value is σfidtt¯γ=63±8(stat.)+17−13(syst.)±1(lumi.) fb per lepton flavor, in good agreement with the leading-order theoretical calculation normalized to the next-to-leading-order theoretical prediction of 48±10 fb.

Variation of the physicochemical and morphological characteristics of solvent casted poly(vinylidene fluoride) along its binary phase diagram with dimethylformamide

Poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, films and membranes were prepared by solvent casting from dimethylformamide, DMF, by systematically varying polymer/solvent ratio and solvent evaporation temperature. The effect of the processing conditions on the morphology, degree of porosity, mechanical and thermal properties and crystalline phase of the polymer were evaluated. The obtained microstructure is explained by the Flory-Huggins theory. For the binary system, the porous membrane formation is attributed to a spinodal decomposition of the liquid-liquid phase separation. The morphological features were simulated through the correlation between the Gibbs total free energy and the Flory-Huggins theory. This correlation allowed the calculation of the PVDF/DMF phase diagram and the evolution of the microstructure in different regions of the phase diagram. Varying preparation conditions allow tailoring polymer 2 microstructure while maintaining a high degree of crystallinity and a large β crystalline phase content. Further, the membranes show adequate mechanical properties for applications in filtration or battery separator membranes.