Development of an FIA system with amperometric detection for determination of bentazone in estuarine waters

On the basis of its electrochemical behaviour a new flow-injection analysis (FIA) method with amperometric detection has been developed for quantification of the herbicide bentazone (BTZ) in estuarine waters. Standard solutions and samples (200 µL) were injected into a water carrier stream and both pH and ionic strength were automatically adjusted inside the manifold. Optimization of critical FIA conditions indicated that the best analytical results were obtained at an oxidation potential of 1.10 V, pH 4.5, and an overall flow-rate of 2.4 mL min–1. Analysis of real samples was performed by means of calibration curves over the concentration range 2.5x10–6 to 5.0x10–5 mol L–1, and results were compared with those obtained by use of an independent method (HPLC). The accuracy of the amperometric determinations was ascertained; errors relative to the comparison method were below 4% and sampling rates were approximately 100 samples h–1. The repeatability of the proposed method was calculated by assessing the relative standard deviation (%) of ten consecutive determinations of one sample; the value obtained was 2.1%.

Study of the voltammetric behaviour of metam and its application to an amperometric flow system

The electrochemical behaviour of the pesticide metam (MT) at a glassy carbon working electrode (GCE) and at a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) was investigated. Different voltammetric techniques, including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV), were used. An anodic peak (independent of pH) at +1.46 V vs AgCl/Ag was observed in MTaqueous solution using the GCE. SWV calibration curves were plotted under optimized conditions (pH 2.5 and frequency 50 Hz), which showed a linear response for 17–29 mg L−1. Electrochemical reduction was also explored, using the HMDE. A well defined cathodic peak was recorded at −0.72 V vs AgCl/ Ag, dependent on pH. After optimizing the operating conditions (pH 10.1, frequency 150 Hz, potential deposition −0.20 V for 10 s), calibration curves was measured in the concentration range 2.5×10−1 to 1.0 mg L−1 using SWV. The electrochemical behaviour of this compound facilitated the development of a flow injection analysis (FIA) system with amperometric detection for the quantification of MT in commercial formulations and spiked water samples. An assessment of the optimal FIA conditions indicated that the best analytical results were obtained at a potential of +1.30 V, an injection volume of 207 μL and an overall flow rate of 2.4 ml min−1. Real samples were analysed via calibration curves over the concentration range 1.3×10−2 to 1.3 mg L−1. Recoveries from the real samples (spiked waters and commercial formulations) were between 97.4 and 105.5%. The precision of the proposed method was evaluated by assessing the relative standard deviation (RSD %) of ten consecutive determinations of one sample (1.0 mg L−1), and the value obtained was 1.5%.

Agar extraction from integrated multitrophic aquacultured Gracilaria vermiculophylla: Evaluation of a microwave-assisted process using response surface methodology

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of agar from Gracilaria vermiculophylla, produced in an integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) system, from Ria de Aveiro (northwestern Portugal), was tested and optimized using response surface methodology. The influence of the MAE operational parameters (extraction time, temperature, solvent volume and stirring speed) on the physical and chemical properties of agar (yield, gel strength, gelling and melting temperatures, as well as, sulphate and 3,6-anhydro-Lgalactose contents) was evaluated in a 2^4 orthogonal composite design. The quality of the extracted agar compared favorably with the attained using traditional extraction (2 h at 85ºC) while reducing drastically extraction time, solvent consumption and waste disposal requirements. Agar MAE optimum results were: an yield of 14.4 ± 0.4%, a gel strength of 1331 ± 51 g/cm2, 40.7 ± 0.2 _C gelling temperature, 93.1 ± 0.5ºC melting temperature, 1.73 ± 0.13% sulfate content and 39.4 ± 0.3% 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose content. Furthermore, this study suggests the feasibility of the exploitation of G. vermiculophylla grew in IMTA systems for agar production.

Economic, environmental and mixed objective functions in non-linear process optimization using simulated annealing and tabu search

Screening of topologies developed by hierarchical heuristic procedures can be carried out by comparing their optimal performance. In this work we will be exploiting mono-objective process optimization using two algorithms, simulated annealing and tabu search, and four different objective functions: two of the net present value type, one of them including environmental costs and two of the global potential impact type. The hydrodealkylation of toluene to produce benzene was used as case study, considering five topologies with different complexities mainly obtained by including or not liquid recycling and heat integration. The performance of the algorithms together with the objective functions was observed, analyzed and discussed from various perspectives: average deviation of results for each algorithm, capacity for producing high purity product, screening of topologies, objective functions robustness in screening of topologies, trade-offs between economic and environmental type objective functions and variability of optimum solutions.

How new online communication tools and the availability of content influence the audiences and the creative process

We live in a changing world. At an impressive speed, every day new technological resources appear. We increasingly use the Internet to obtain and share information, and new online communication tools are emerging. Each of them encompasses new potential and creates new audiences. In recent years, we witnessed the emergence of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media platforms. They have provided us with an even greater interactivity between sender and receiver, as well as generated a new sense of community. At the same time we also see the availability of content like it never happened before. We are increasingly sharing texts, videos, photos, etc. This poster intends to explore the potential of using these new online communication tools in the cultural sphere to create new audiences, to develop of a new kind of community, to provide information as well as different ways of building organizations’ memory. The transience of performing arts is accompanied by the need to counter that transience by means of documentation. This desire to ‘save’ events reaches its expression with the information archive of the different production moments as well as the opportunity to record the event and present it through, for instance, digital platforms. In this poster we intend to answer the following questions: which online communication tools are being used to engage audiences in the cultural sphere (specifically between theater companies in Lisbon)? Is there a new relationship with the public? Are online communication tools creating a new kind of community? What changes are these tools introducing in the creative process? In what way the availability of content and its archive contribute to the organization memory? Among several references, we will approach the two-way communication model that James E. Grunig & Todd T. Hunt (1984) already presented and the concept of mass self-communication of Manuel Castells (2010). Castells also tells us that we have moved from traditional media to a system of communication networks. For Scott Kirsner (2010), we have entered an era of digital creativity, where artists have the tools to do what they imagined and the public no longer wants to just consume cultural goods, but instead to have a voice and participate. The creativity process is now depending on the public choice as they wander through the screen. It is the receiver who owns an object which can be exchanged. Virtual reality has encouraged the receiver to abandon its position of passive observer and to become a participant agent, which implies a challenge to organizations: inventing new forms of interfaces. Therefore, we intend to find new and effective online tools that can be used by cultural organizations; the best way to manage them; to show how organizations can create a community with the public and how the availability of online content and its archive can contribute to the organizations’ memory.

10 kVp rule – An anthropomorphic pelvis phantom imaging study using a CR system: impact on image quality and effective dose using AEC and manual mode

Background - Pelvis and hip radiography are consistently found to be amongst the highest contributors to the collective effective dose (E) in all ten DOSE DATAMED countries in Europe, representing 2.8 to 9.4% of total collective dose (S) in the TOP 20 exams list. The level of image quality should provide all the diagnostic information in order not to jeopardise the diagnosis, but being able to provide the needed clinical information with the minimum dose. A recent study suggests further research to determine whether the “10 kVp rule” would have value for a range of examinations using Computed Radiography (CR) systems. As a “rule of thumb” increasing the kVp by 10 whilst halving the mAs is suggested to give a similar perceptual image quality when compared to the original exposure factors. Aims - In light of the 10kVp rule, this study aims to investigate the influence of tube potential (kVp) variation in relation to perceptual image quality and E for pelvis imaging using automatic exposure control (AEC) and non-AEC in a Computed Radiography (CR) system. Research questions - Does the 10kVp rule works for the pelvis in relation to image quality in a CR system? Does the image quality differs when the AEC is used instead of manual mode using the 10kVp rule and how this impacts on E?

Adding value [valorization] to tannery fleshings: part II – effect of protein hydrolysates on leather dyeing

The tanning industry generates a high quantity of solid wastes. Therefore, there is a need to create valorization [added value] options for these wastes. The main objective of the present work was to study the effect of protein hydrolysates (HP) prepared from fleshings on leather dyeing. During previous studies it was found that the application of HP products, obtained from fleshings, in leather retannage intensified the colour of crust leather. In this work the CIELAB colour system was used to evaluate the effect of HP on retannage processes. The main conclusions of this study were: (i) HP can be used instead of a dicyanodiamide resin (Fortan DC) if the colour parameters of the standard procedure are to be maintained, and (ii) the replacement of an acrylic resin (Fortan A40) by glutaraldehyde-modified HP (GHP) results in a darker skin, and can therefore be interesting for the reduction of the quantity of dye used.

A distributed system for learning programming on-line

Several Web-based on-line judges or on-line programming trainers have been developed in order to allow students to train their programming skills. However, their pedagogical functionalities in the learning of programming have not been clearly defined. EduJudge is a project which aims to integrate the “UVA On-line Judge”, an existing on-line programming trainer with an important number of problems and users, into an effective educational environment consisting of the e-learning platform Moodle and the competitive learning tool QUESTOURnament. The result is the EduJudge system which allows teachers to apply different pedagogical approaches using a proven e-learning platform, makes problems easy to search through an effective search engine, and provides an automated evaluation of the solutions submitted to these problems. The final objective is to provide new learning strategies to motivate students and present programming as an easy and attractive challenge. EduJudge has been tried and tested in three algorithms and programming courses in three different Engineering degrees. The students’ motivation and satisfaction levels were analysed alongside the effects of the EduJudge system on students’ academic outcomes. Results indicate that both students and teachers found that among other multiple benefits the EduJudge system facilitates the learning process. Furthermore, the experi- ment also showed an improvement in students’ academic outcomes. It must be noted that the students’ level of satisfaction did not depend on their computer skills or their gender.

Application-specific modified particle swarm optimization for energy resource scheduling considering vehicle-to-grid

This paper presents a modified Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) methodology to solve the problem of energy resources management with high penetration of distributed generation and Electric Vehicles (EVs) with gridable capability (V2G). The objective of the day-ahead scheduling problem in this work is to minimize operation costs, namely energy costs, regarding he management of these resources in the smart grid context. The modifications applied to the PSO aimed to improve its adequacy to solve the mentioned problem. The proposed Application Specific Modified Particle Swarm Optimization (ASMPSO) includes an intelligent mechanism to adjust velocity limits during the search process, as well as self-parameterization of PSO parameters making it more user-independent. It presents better robustness and convergence characteristics compared with the tested PSO variants as well as better constraint handling. This enables its use for addressing real world large-scale problems in much shorter times than the deterministic methods, providing system operators with adequate decision support and achieving efficient resource scheduling, even when a significant number of alternative scenarios should be considered. The paper includes two realistic case studies with different penetration of gridable vehicles (1000 and 2000). The proposed methodology is about 2600 times faster than Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) reference technique, reducing the time required from 25 h to 36 s for the scenario with 2000 vehicles, with about one percent of difference in the objective function cost value.

O contributo do Value For Money na análise da atividade do transporte não urgente de doentes

Mestrado em Auditoria

Legal and political regulation of higher education in Portugal: an evolutionary perspective on the current policy issues and the problem of order

The higher education system in Europe is currently under stress and the debates over its reform and future are gaining momentum. Now that, for most countries, we are in a time for change, in the overall society and the whole education system, the legal and political dimensions have gained prominence, which has not been followed by a more integrative approach of the problem of order, its reform and the issue of regulation, beyond the typical static and classical cost-benefit analyses. The two classical approaches for studying (and for designing the policy measures of) the problem of the reform of the higher education system - the cost-benefit analysis and the legal scholarship description - have to be integrated. This is the argument of our paper that the very integration of economic and legal approaches, what Warren Samuels called the legal-economic nexus, is meaningful and necessary, especially if we want to address the problem of order (as formulated by Joseph Spengler) and the overall regulation of the system. On the one hand, and without neglecting the interest and insights gained from the cost-benefit analysis, or other approaches of value for money assessment, we will focus our study on the legal, social and political aspects of the regulation of the higher education system and its reform in Portugal. On the other hand, the economic and financial problems have to be taken into account, but in a more inclusive way with regard to the indirect and other socio-economic costs not contemplated in traditional or standard assessments of policies for the tertiary education sector. In the first section of the paper, we will discuss the theoretical and conceptual underpinning of our analysis, focusing on the evolutionary approach, the role of critical institutions, the legal-economic nexus and the problem of order. All these elements are related to the institutional tradition, from Veblen and Commons to Spengler and Samuels. The second section states the problem of regulation in the higher education system and the issue of policy formulation for tackling the problem. The current situation is clearly one of crisis with the expansion of the cohorts of young students coming to an end and the recurrent scandals in private institutions. In the last decade, after a protracted period of extension or expansion of the system, i. e., the continuous growth of students, universities and other institutions are competing harder to gain students and have seen their financial situation at risk. It seems that we are entering a period of radical uncertainty, higher competition and a new configuration that is slowly building up is the growth in intensity, which means upgrading the quality of the higher learning and getting more involvement in vocational training and life-long learning. With this change, and along with other deep ones in the Portuguese society and economy, the current regulation has shown signs of maladjustment. The third section consists of our conclusions on the current issue of regulation and policy challenge. First, we underline the importance of an evolutionary approach to a process of change that is essentially dynamic. A special attention will be given to the issues related to an evolutionary construe of policy analysis and formulation. Second, the integration of law and economics, through the notion of legal economic nexus, allows us to better define the issues of regulation and the concrete problems that the universities are facing. One aspect is the instability of the political measures regarding the public administration and on which the higher education system depends financially, legally and institutionally, to say the least. A corollary is the lack of clear strategy in the policy reforms. Third, our research criticizes several studies, such as the one made by the OECD in late 2006 for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, for being too static and neglecting fundamental aspects of regulation such as the logic of actors, groups and organizations who are major players in the system. Finally, simply changing the legal rules will not necessary per se change the behaviors that the authorities want to change. By this, we mean that it is not only remiss of the policy maker to ignore some of the critical issues of regulation, namely the continuous non-respect by academic management and administrative bodies of universities of the legal rules that were once promulgated. Changing the rules does not change the problem, especially without the necessary debates form the different relevant quarters that make up the higher education system. The issues of social interaction remain as intact. Our treatment of the matter will be organized in the following way. In the first section, the theoretical principles are developed in order to be able to study more adequately the higher education transformation with a modest evolutionary theory and a legal and economic nexus of the interactions of the system and the policy challenges. After describing, in the second section, the recent evolution and current working of the higher education in Portugal, we will analyze the legal framework and the current regulatory practices and problems in light of the theoretical framework adopted. We will end with some conclusions on the current problems of regulation and the policy measures that are discusses in recent years.

Avaliação e a Qualidade das Práticas de Inclusão para Alunos com PEA: Escala LAQI (Louisiana Autism Quality Indicators)

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação Especial, domínio Cognição e Multideficiência

Level monitoring system for waste oil containers: an EPS@ISEP project

Waste oil recycling companies play a very important role in our society. Competition among companies is tough and process optimization is essential for survival. By equipping oil containers with a level monitoring system that periodically reports the level and alerts when it reaches the preset threshold, the oil recycling companies are able to streamline the oil collection process and, thus, reduce the operation costs while maintaining the quality of service. This paper describes the development of this level monitoring system by a team of four students from different engineering backgrounds and nationalities. The team conducted a study of the state of the art, draw marketing and sustainable development plans and, finally, designed and implemented a prototype that continuously measures the container content level and sends an alert message as soon as it reaches the preset capacity.

A complex protocol layer as a linux user-space process

With the current complexity of communication protocols, implementing its layers totally in the kernel of the operating system is too cumbersome, and it does not allow use of the capabilities only available in user space processes. However, building protocols as user space processes must not impair the responsiveness of the communication. Therefore, in this paper we present a layer of a communication protocol, which, due to its complexity, was implemented in a user space process. Lower layers of the protocol are, for responsiveness issues, implemented in the kernel. This protocol was developed to support large-scale power-line communication (PLC) with timing requirements.

Evaluation of maternal and neonatal hospital care: quality index of completeness

OBJECTIVE Develop an index to evaluate the maternal and neonatal hospital care of the Brazilian Unified Health System.METHODS This descriptive cross-sectional study of national scope was based on the structure-process-outcome framework proposed by Donabedian and on comprehensive health care. Data from the Hospital Information System and the National Registry of Health Establishments were used. The maternal and neonatal network of Brazilian Unified Health System consisted of 3,400 hospitals that performed at least 12 deliveries in 2009 or whose number of deliveries represented 10.0% or more of the total admissions in 2009. Relevance and reliability were defined as criteria for the selection of variables. Simple and composite indicators and the index of completeness were constructed and evaluated, and the distribution of maternal and neonatal hospital care was assessed in different regions of the country.RESULTS A total of 40 variables were selected, from which 27 single indicators, five composite indicators, and the index of completeness of care were built. Composite indicators were constructed by grouping simple indicators and included the following variables: hospital size, level of complexity, delivery care practice, recommended hospital practice, and epidemiological practice. The index of completeness of care grouped the five variables and classified them in ascending order, thereby yielding five levels of completeness of maternal and neonatal hospital care: very low, low, intermediate, high, and very high. The hospital network was predominantly of small size and low complexity, with inadequate child delivery care and poor development of recommended and epidemiological practices. The index showed that more than 80.0% hospitals had a low index of completeness of care and that most qualified heath care services were concentrated in the more developed regions of the country.CONCLUSIONS The index of completeness proved to be of great value for monitoring the maternal and neonatal hospital care of Brazilian Unified Health System and indicated that the quality of health care was unsatisfactory. However, its application does not replace specific evaluations.