Development of a methodology to incorporate risk and uncertainty in electricity power planning

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial

Planeamento e controlo de projetos em ambiente colaborativo com recurso a ferramentas BIM

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil

Planeamento e controlo de projetos de construção com recurso ao BIM

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil

A 3D computer assisted Orthopedic Surgery Planning approach based on planar radiography

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Informática Médica)

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Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

La institucionalización de la Comunidad Regional Punilla (Provincia de Córdoba): estudio y promoción de metodologías de diseño participativo y gestión asociada de políticas públicas para el desarrollo. The institution of Punilla Regional Community: study and promotion of participative metodologies for the associated planning and management of development policies.

Durante el período 2006-2008, las actividades de investigación y asistencia técnica de este equipo enfatizaron en la necesaria práctica social y política de horizontalidad en las relaciones, en la 'dimensión intersubjetiva o relacional de la regionalización' (Cáceres, 2006) en el marco de la Comunidad Regional Punilla (CRP), considerando a la identidad regional como un condicionante relevante de la 'construcción de la región como unidad de acción(Boisier, 2003). Así, durante ese período, se ha ido conformando un espacio 'regional' de composición multiactoral, social y gubernamental, para el trabajo asociativo (PROFIM, SIP, UCC 2007, 2008). Con el propósito de profundizar el Programa, este proyecto propone el fortalecimiento institucional de la CRP a través de la formalización del escenario participativo regional (Poggiese, 2001, 2002) para el diseño y gestión asociada de políticas de desarrollo. Tales propósitos y mecanismos están previstos en la Ley Orgánica de Regionalización de la Provincia de Córdoba (9.206/04) y en las normativas regionales derivadas de ésta a través de la figura del 'Consejo de la Sociedad Civil'. Con base en la observación del proceso desarrollado en Punilla desde el año 2006, esta propuesta suscribe el carácter interdisciplinario e intersectorial de la red social y política en la que se sustentará el Consejo y la lógica 'procesal y consensual' de su construcción, considerando, además, la nueva configuración del mapa político de la CRP a partir de los resultados electorales del año 2008 en tanto cambios estructurales en la relación gobierno y oposición que se presentan como una oportunidad para desarrollar los espacios públicos participativos que la sociedad regional puede ocupar para canalizar institucionalmente sus demandas. El proyecto busca 'analizar' pero también 'promover' el proceso de cambio político y social en marcha para facilitar su 'ampliación democrática' (Redín y Moroni, 2003), reflexionado críticamente y poniendo en cuestión algunos de los supuestos que han caracterizado a la retórica de la regionalización provincial: la existencia de una sociedad civil debidamente organizada en cada una de las regiones, cuya concurrencia al proceso decisorio puede asegurarse una vez 'abiertos' -formalizados- los canales de participación; la superación de la dirección bottom up en los procesos de toma de decisiones y la preeminencia de modalidades de 'articulación intermunicipal' para la gestión de políticas allí donde la Ley y las ordenanzas locales declaran establecida una 'Comunidad Regional'. El cuestionamiento de dichos supuestos sustenta, en definitiva, las preguntas que delimitan los temas- problema que se abordarán a partir de este trabajo.

A comparative analysis of sustainable tourism, planning and development between Sligo and Donegal County Councils

Sustainable Development requires appropriate and continuous planning and management of economic, socio cultural and environmental resources. Tourism planning calls for continuous collaboration among tourism agencies, local authorities and local communities for success of the industry. While evidence suggests that tourism planning has been extensively documented, it is apparent that Donegal and Sligo County Councils have, in some cases failed to adequately address the significance of planning of the tourism industry for the North West of Ireland. This was investigated through interviews with chief planners of Donegal and Sligo county councils and was conducted in conjunction with the analysis of county development plans; which were formulated by both organisations involved in this study. Evidence suggests that although tourism is extensively documented by Donegal and Sligo county councils, neither of the two local authorities have developed implementation strategies to facilitate the promotion of sustainable tourism development. This research compares and analyses Donegal and Sligo county councils and how they plan for sustainable tourism development. It outlines the role of the county councils in relation to tourism planning and how Donegal and Sligo compare in how they plan for such a significant industry in the North West o f Ireland. It highlights the importance of implementation tools and methods and offers future directions that can assist in the development of sustainable tourism.

Investigating the long term planning framework for the Galway Bay community from climate change.

This research looked at the scientific evidence available on climate change and in particular, projections on sea level rise which ranged from 0.5m to 2m by the end of the century. These projections were then considered in an Irish context. A review of current policy in Ireland revealed that there was no dedicated Government policy on climate change or coastal zone management. In terms of spatial planning policy, it became apparent that there was little or no guidance on climate change either at a national, regional or local level. Therefore, to determine the likely impacts of sea level rise in Ireland based on current spatial planning practice and policy, a scenario-building exercise was carried out for two case study areas in Galway Bay. The two case study areas were: Oranmore, a densely populated town located to the east of Inner Galway Bay; and Tawin Island, a rural dispersed community, located to the south east of Inner Galway Bay. A ‘best’ and ‘worse’ case scenario was envisaged for both areas in terms of sea level rise. In the absence of specific climate change policies it was projected that in the ‘best’ case scenario of 0.5m sea level rise, Tawin Island would suffer serious and adverse impacts while Oranmore was likely to experience slight to moderate impacts. However, in the ‘worse’ case scenario of a 2m sea level rise, it was likely that Tawin Island would be abandoned while many houses, businesses and infrastructure built within the floodplain of Oranmore Bay would be inundated and permanently flooded. In this regard, it was the author’s opinion that a strategic and integrated climate change policy and adaptation plan is vital for the island of Ireland that recognises the importance of integrated land use and spatial planning in terms of mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Collaboration process design for ideation in distributed environments : approaches to support collaborative ideation in global virtual groups using technological support

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2012

Historic evolution and urban planning typology of Olympic Village

Article providing a broad historical overview of the role and typology of Olympic villages along the history of the Modern Olympic Games. This article was published in the book entitled ‘Olympic Villages: a hundred years of urban planning and shared experiences’ compiling the papers given at the 1997 International Symposium on International Chair in Olympism (IOC-UAB).

Results of a collaborative study of the EDNAP group regarding mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy and segregation in hair shafts.

A collaborative exercise was carried out by the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP) in order to evaluate the distribution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy amongst the hairs of an individual who displays point heteroplasmy in blood and buccal cells. A second aim of the exercise was to study reproducibility of mtDNA sequencing of hairs between laboratories using differing chemistries, further to the first mtDNA reproducibility study carried out by the EDNAP group. Laboratories were asked to type 2 sections from each of 10 hairs, such that each hair was typed by at least two laboratories. Ten laboratories participated in the study, and a total of 55 hairs were typed. The results showed that the C/T point heteroplasmy observed in blood and buccal cells at position 16234 segregated differentially between hairs, such that some hairs showed only C, others only T and the remainder, C/T heteroplasmy at varying ratios. Additionally, differential segregation of heteroplasmic variants was confirmed in independent extracts at positions 16093 and the poly(C) tract at 302-309, whilst a complete A-G transition was confirmed at position 16129 in one hair. Heteroplasmy was observed at position 16195 on both strands of a single extract from one hair segment, but was not observed in the extracts from any other segment of the same hair. Similarly, heteroplasmy at position 16304 was observed on both strands of a single extract from one hair. Additional variants at positions 73, 249 and the HVII poly(C) region were reported by one laboratory; as these were not confirmed in independent extracts, the possibility of contamination cannot be excluded. Additionally, the electrophoresis and detection equipment used by this laboratory was different to those of the other laboratories, and the discrepancies at position 249 and the HVII poly(C) region appear to be due to reading errors that may be associated with this technology. The results, and their implications for forensic mtDNA typing, are discussed in the light of the biology of hair formation.

T1-weighted MRI as a substitute to CT for refocusing planning in MR-guided focused ultrasound.

Precise focusing is essential for transcranial MRI-guided focused ultrasound (TcMRgFUS) to minimize collateral damage to non-diseased tissues and to achieve temperatures capable of inducing coagulative necrosis at acceptable power deposition levels. CT is usually used for this refocusing but requires a separate study (CT) ahead of the TcMRgFUS procedure. The goal of this study was to determine whether MRI using an appropriate sequence would be a viable alternative to CT for planning ultrasound refocusing in TcMRgFUS. We tested three MRI pulse sequences (3D T1 weighted 3D volume interpolated breath hold examination (VIBE), proton density weighted 3D sampling perfection with applications optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolution and 3D true fast imaging with steady state precision T2-weighted imaging) on patients who have already had a CT scan performed. We made detailed measurements of the calvarial structure based on the MRI data and compared those so-called 'virtual CT' to detailed measurements of the calvarial structure based on the CT data, used as a reference standard. We then loaded both standard and virtual CT in a TcMRgFUS device and compared the calculated phase correction values, as well as the temperature elevation in a phantom. A series of Bland-Altman measurement agreement analyses showed T1 3D VIBE as the optimal MRI sequence, with respect to minimizing the measurement discrepancy between the MRI derived total skull thickness measurement and the CT derived total skull thickness measurement (mean measurement discrepancy: 0.025; 95% CL (-0.22-0.27); p = 0.825). The T1-weighted sequence was also optimal in estimating skull CT density and skull layer thickness. The mean difference between the phase shifts calculated with the standard CT and the virtual CT reconstructed from the T1 dataset was 0.08 ± 1.2 rad on patients and 0.1 ± 0.9 rad on phantom. Compared to the real CT, the MR-based correction showed a 1 °C drop on the maximum temperature elevation in the phantom (7% relative drop). Without any correction, the maximum temperature was down 6 °C (43% relative drop). We have developed an approach that allows for a reconstruction of a virtual CT dataset from MRI to perform phase correction in TcMRgFUS.

Molecular detection and identification of zygomycetes species from paraffin-embedded tissues in a murine model of disseminated zygomycosis: a collaborative European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Fungal Infection Study Group (EFISG) evaluation.

The present study was performed to assess the interlaboratory reproducibility of the molecular detection and identification of species of Zygomycetes from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded kidney and brain tissues obtained from experimentally infected mice. Animals were infected with one of five species (Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus microsporus, Lichtheimia corymbifera, Rhizomucor pusillus, and Mucor circinelloides). Samples with 1, 10, or 30 slide cuts of the tissues were prepared from each paraffin block, the sample identities were blinded for analysis, and the samples were mailed to each of seven laboratories for the assessment of sensitivity. A protocol describing the extraction method and the PCR amplification procedure was provided. The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region was amplified by PCR with the fungal universal primers ITS1 and ITS2 and sequenced. As negative results were obtained for 93% of the tissue specimens infected by M. circinelloides, the data for this species were excluded from the analysis. Positive PCR results were obtained for 93% (52/56), 89% (50/56), and 27% (15/56) of the samples with 30, 10, and 1 slide cuts, respectively. There were minor differences, depending on the organ tissue, fungal species, and laboratory. Correct species identification was possible for 100% (30 cuts), 98% (10 cuts), and 93% (1 cut) of the cases. With the protocol used in the present study, the interlaboratory reproducibility of ITS sequencing for the identification of major Zygomycetes species from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues can reach 100%, when enough material is available.