Distributed process execution in collaborative networks

Processes are a central entity in enterprise collaboration. Collaborative processes need to be executed and coordinated in a distributed Computational platform where computers are connected through heterogeneous networks and systems. Life cycle management of such collaborative processes requires a framework able to handle their diversity based on different computational and communication requirements. This paper proposes a rational for such framework, points out key requirements and proposes it strategy for a supporting technological infrastructure. Beyond the portability of collaborative process definitions among different technological bindings, a framework to handle different life cycle phases of those definitions is presented and discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive mutations in bacteria: high rate and small effects

Evolution by natural selection is driven by the continuous generation of adaptive mutations. We measured the genomic mutation rate that generates beneficial mutations and their effects on fitness in Escherichia coli under conditions in which the effect of competition between lineages carrying different beneficial mutations is minimized. We found a rate on the order of 10–5 per genome per generation, which is 1000 times as high as previous estimates, and a mean selective advantage of 1%. Such a high rate of adaptive evolution has implications for the evolution of antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity.

Envelhecimento bem sucedido : que percepções?

Dissertação de Mestrado em Gerontologia Social

Comparing the content of instruments assessing environmental factors using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Purpose: To describe and compare the content of instruments that assess environmental factors using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, CINAHL and PEDro databases was conducted using a pre-determined search strategy. The identified instruments were screened independently by two investigators, and meaningful concepts were linked to the most precise ICF category according to published linking rules. Results: Six instruments were included, containing 526 meaningful concepts. Instruments had between 20% and 98% of items linked to categories in Chapter 1. The highest percentage of items from one instrument linked to categories in Chapters 2–5 varied between 9% and 50%. The presence or absence of environmental factors in a specific context is assessed in 3 instruments, while the other 3 assess the intensity of the impact of environmental factors. Discussion: Instruments differ in their content, type of assessment, and have several items linked to the same ICF category. Most instruments primarily assess products and technology (Chapter 1), highlighting the need to deepen the discussion on the theory that supports the measurement of environmental factors. This discussion should be thorough and lead to the development of methodologies and new tools that capture the underlying concepts of the ICF.

Energy resource management in smart grids considering an Intensive use of electric vehicles

The introduction of electricity markets and integration of Distributed Generation (DG) have been influencing the power system’s structure change. Recently, the smart grid concept has been introduced, to guarantee a more efficient operation of the power system using the advantages of this new paradigm. Basically, a smart grid is a structure that integrates different players, considering constant communication between them to improve power system operation and management. One of the players revealing a big importance in this context is the Virtual Power Player (VPP). In the transportation sector the Electric Vehicle (EV) is arising as an alternative to conventional vehicles propel by fossil fuels. The power system can benefit from this massive introduction of EVs, taking advantage on EVs’ ability to connect to the electric network to charge, and on the future expectation of EVs ability to discharge to the network using the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capacity. This thesis proposes alternative strategies to control these two EV modes with the objective of enhancing the management of the power system. Moreover, power system must ensure the trips of EVs that will be connected to the electric network. The EV user specifies a certain amount of energy that will be necessary to charge, in order to ensure the distance to travel. The introduction of EVs in the power system turns the Energy Resource Management (ERM) under a smart grid environment, into a complex problem that can take several minutes or hours to reach the optimal solution. Adequate optimization techniques are required to accommodate this kind of complexity while solving the ERM problem in a reasonable execution time. This thesis presents a tool that solves the ERM considering the intensive use of EVs in the smart grid context. The objective is to obtain the minimum cost of ERM considering: the operation cost of DG, the cost of the energy acquired to external suppliers, the EV users payments and remuneration and penalty costs. This tool is directed to VPPs that manage specific network areas, where a high penetration level of EVs is expected to be connected in these areas. The ERM is solved using two methodologies: the adaptation of a deterministic technique proposed in a previous work, and the adaptation of the Simulated Annealing (SA) technique. With the purpose of improving the SA performance for this case, three heuristics are additionally proposed, taking advantage on the particularities and specificities of an ERM with these characteristics. A set of case studies are presented in this thesis, considering a 32 bus distribution network and up to 3000 EVs. The first case study solves the scheduling without considering EVs, to be used as a reference case for comparisons with the proposed approaches. The second case study evaluates the complexity of the ERM with the integration of EVs. The third case study evaluates the performance of scheduling with different control modes for EVs. These control modes, combined with the proposed SA approach and with the developed heuristics, aim at improving the quality of the ERM, while reducing drastically its execution time. The proposed control modes are: uncoordinated charging, smart charging and V2G capability. The fourth and final case study presents the ERM approach applied to consecutive days.

Diagnóstico de estruturas de madeira em serviço num palacete do século XIX

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização em Edificações

Host-symbiont interactions in the deep-sea vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus : a molecular approach

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Mar, especialidade de Biologia Marinha, 19 de Dezembro de 2015, Universidade dos Açores.

Cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of Brazilian Need for Recovery Scale

OBJECTIVE: To translate the Need for Recovery Scale (NFR) into Brazilian Portuguese and culturally adapt it and assess the stability, internal consistency and convergent validity of the Brazilian scale among industrial workers. METHODS: The translation process followed the guidelines for cultural adaptation of questionnaires including the steps of translation, synthesis, back translation, expert committee review, and pre-testing. The Brazilian Portuguese NFR, final version (Br-NFR) was assessed for stability (n=52) and internal consistency (n=192) and for convergent validity through simultaneous assessment with other instruments: the Borg Scale (n=59); the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (n=57) and 3 subscales of the SF-36 (n=56). RESULTS: Stability and internal consistency met the criterion for a reliable measure (ICC=0.80 and Cronbach's alpha =0.87, respectively). The convergent validity between Br-NFR and other instruments also showed good results: Borg Scale (r= 0.64); Chalder Questionnaire (r= 0.67); SF-36 subscales: vitality (r= -0.84), physical functioning (r= -0.54), and role-physical (r= -0.47). CONCLUSIONS: The Br-NFR proved to be a reliable instrument to evaluate work-related fatigue symptoms in industrial workers. Furthermore, it showed significant and good correlations with well-established instruments such as the Borg Scale, the Chalder Questionnaire and SF-36 vitality subscale, supporting the validity of the Br-NFR.

Towards the detection of deception in interactive multimedia environments

A classical application of biosignal analysis has been the psychophysiological detection of deception, also known as the polygraph test, which is currently a part of standard practices of law enforcement agencies and several other institutions worldwide. Although its validity is far from gathering consensus, the underlying psychophysiological principles are still an interesting add-on for more informal applications. In this paper we present an experimental off-the-person hardware setup, propose a set of feature extraction criteria and provide a comparison of two classification approaches, targeting the detection of deception in the context of a role-playing interactive multimedia environment. Our work is primarily targeted at recreational use in the context of a science exhibition, where the main goal is to present basic concepts related with knowledge discovery, biosignal analysis and psychophysiology in an educational way, using techniques that are simple enough to be understood by children of different ages. Nonetheless, this setting will also allow us to build a significant data corpus, annotated with ground-truth information, and collected with non-intrusive sensors, enabling more advanced research on the topic. Experimental results have shown interesting findings and provided useful guidelines for future work. Pattern Recognition

Soil remediation time to achieve clean-up goals I: influence of soil water content

The current models are not simple enough to allow a quick estimation of the remediation time. This work reports the development of an easy and relatively rapid procedure for the forecasting of the remediation time using vapour extraction. Sandy soils contaminated with cyclohexane and prepared with different water contents were studied. The remediation times estimated through the mathematical fitting of experimental results were compared with those of real soils. The main objectives were: (i) to predict, through a simple mathematical fitting, the remediation time of soils with water contents different from those used in the experiments; (ii) to analyse the influence of soil water content on the: (ii1) remediation time; (ii2) remediation efficiency; and (ii3) distribution of contaminants in the different phases present into the soil matrix after the remediation process. For sandy soils with negligible contents of clay and natural organic matter, artificially contaminated with cyclohexane before vapour extraction, it was concluded that (i) if the soil water content belonged to the range considered in the experiments with the prepared soils, then the remediation time of real soils of similar characteristics could be successfully predicted, with relative differences not higher than 10%, through a simple mathematical fitting of experimental results; (ii) increasing soil water content from 0% to 6% had the following consequences: (ii1) increased remediation time (1.8–4.9 h, respectively); (ii2) decreased remediation efficiency (99–97%, respectively); and (ii3) decreased the amount of contaminant adsorbed onto the soil and in the non-aqueous liquid phase, thus increasing the amount of contaminant in the aqueous and gaseous phases.

Remediation efficiency of vapour extraction of sandy soils contaminated with cyclohexane: influence of air flow rate, water and natural organic matter content

Abstract This work reports the analysis of the efficiency and time of soil remediation using vapour extraction as well as provides comparison of results using both, prepared and real soils. The main objectives were: (i) to analyse the efficiency and time of remediation according to the water and natural organic matter content of the soil; and (ii) to assess if a previous study, performed using prepared soils, could help to preview the process viability in real conditions. For sandy soils with negligible clay content, artificially contaminated with cyclohexane before vapour extraction, it was concluded that (i) the increase of soil water content and mainly of natural organic matter content influenced negatively the remediation process, making it less efficient, more time consuming, and consequently more expensive; and (ii) a previous study using prepared soils of similar characteristics has proven helpful for previewing the process viability in real conditions.

Autoeficácia e satisfação no trabalho em técnicos de diagnóstico e terapêutica

Dissertação apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Gestão das Organizações, Ramo de Gestão de Empresas Orientada por Professora Doutora Diana Margarida Pinheiro de Aguiar Vieira Esta dissertação não inclui as críticas e as sugestões feitas pelo júri

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.

Modelo de competências dos enfermeiros com funções de gestão em Portugal: estudo exploratório

Nas últimas décadas assistimos a transformações económicas, tecnológicas, políticas e sociais, que influenciaram diretamente o modo de pensar e agir nas organizações. O conceito de competências, com uma valorização crescente, surge como uma alternativa à abordagem da gestão de recursos humanos por funções, respondendo aos desafios atuais do mercado: necessidade de flexibilidade, de adaptação a mudanças contínuas, exigências crescentes do mercado e competitividade das organizações nesse mercado. A área da saúde, e concretamente a profissão de Enfermagem também tem evoluído, surgindo em 2009, uma nova forma de operacionalizar a carreira destes profissionais. No que diz respeito aos enfermeiros com funções de gestão, o conteúdo funcional está descrito, contudo, não existe uma definição clara das competências requeridas para estes profissionais. Este trabalho de investigação, de cariz exploratório, utilizando uma metodologia qualitativa, pretendeu propor uma estratégia de definição de um modelo de competências para os enfermeiros com funções de gestão em Portugal. Para isso, definimos categorias de competências, através da análise da literatura e da legislação. Seguiu-se a realização de entrevistas a um painel de doze peritos, e uma análise de conteúdo dos dados (categorização do tipo misto). Procedemos a uma comparação da recolha empírica de competências com as da recolha teórica, e definimos uma lista de 10 competências para as funções de gestão dos enfermeiros: Competências Técnicas de Gestão; Competências Interpessoais; Comunicação; Gestão de Recursos Humanos; Pensamento Crítico; Conhecimento de Políticas de Saúde; Competências Técnicas de Enfermagem; Organização e Planeamento; Trabalho de Equipa; Preocupação pela Qualidade. De forma a complementar o estudo, pretendemos identificar a perceção das lacunas de competências nos enfermeiros com funções de gestão, e identificar os processos de desenvolvimento de competências considerados mais relevantes para estes profissionais. As lacunas identificadas nas competências dos atuais enfermeiros com funções de gestão, face às mais valorizadas, são reduzidas e dispersas, pelo que consideramos pouco significativas. A forma de desenvolvimento de competências mais valorizado pelo painel de peritos foi a formação (académica e em contexto profissional). Foi também realçada a importância do empenho individual neste processo, assim como a avaliação de competências antes dos enfermeiros assumirem funções de gestão.Consideramos que esta investigação traz contributos quer para a literatura da Gestão por Competências, quer para a literatura da definição de competências das funções dos enfermeiros com funções de gestão, quer para a profissão de enfermagem, (nomeadamente, para as funções de gestão dos enfermeiros), quer para o próprio SNS, já que faz algumas propostas e sugestões para a evolução das práticas de gestão de pessoas.

Alice's anima or the obligation of a reading transliteracy

This paper suggests an analysis of "Inanimate Alice" by Kate Pullinger, Chris Joseph and Ian Harper as an example of a transmedia narrative that triggers a new reading experience whilst proposing a literary alterity between reading and performance. Narrative experiences that elect the visual plasticity, interchanging games and tactility as drivers of the creative process are not new. Yet, narrative experiences, which have been created in the gap between reality and fiction, have found on the digital realm the perfect environment to multiple hybrid experiences. Bearing in mind Walter Benjamin’s concept of Erlebnis and Erfahrung, a critical analysis of this digital fiction tries to illustrate how literary art finds its space and time in a metamorphosed continuum only activated by the “patient reader”. All the multimedia hybrids, which this digital literary work may have, challenge readers to interpret different signals and poetic structures that most of readers might not be accustomed to; however even among a cognitive dissonance, meaning is found and reading happens only if time, space and attention are available. All possible transmedia literacies can only respond to this experience of online reading, if they are able to focus and draw attention not to a simple new behaviour or a single new practice, but to a demanding state of affairs that assemble different objective and subjective value forms.