Decision support system with incomplete and domain incoherent information management

Many of the most common human functions such as temporal and non-monotonic reasoning have not yet been fully mapped in developed systems, even though some theoretical breakthroughs have already been accomplished. This is mainly due to the inherent computational complexity of the theoretical approaches. In the particular area of fault diagnosis in power systems however, some systems which tried to solve the problem, have been deployed using methodologies such as production rule based expert systems, neural networks, recognition of chronicles, fuzzy expert systems, etc. SPARSE (from the Portuguese acronym, which means expert system for incident analysis and restoration support) was one of the developed systems and, in the sequence of its development, came the need to cope with incomplete and/or incorrect information as well as the traditional problems for power systems fault diagnosis based on SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) information retrieval, namely real-time operation, huge amounts of information, etc. This paper presents an architecture for a decision support system, which can solve the presented problems, using a symbiosis of the event calculus and the default reasoning rule based system paradigms, insuring soft real-time operation with incomplete, incorrect or domain incoherent information handling ability. A prototype implementation of this system is already at work in the control centre of the Portuguese Transmission Network.

A study on the encryption algorithm for RFID tag (SEED : 8 Rounds × 64 bits block)

Although it is always weak between RFID Tag and Terminal in focus of the security, there are no security skills in RFID Tag. Recently there are a lot of studying in order to protect it, but because it has some physical limitation of RFID, that is it should be low electric power and high speed, it is impossible to protect with the skills. At present, the methods of RFID security are using a security server, a security policy and security. One of them the most famous skill is the security module, then they has an authentication skill and an encryption skill. In this paper, we designed and implemented after modification original SEED into 8 Round and 64 bits for Tag.

Software transactional memory as a building block for parallel embedded realtime systems

The recent trends of chip architectures with higher number of heterogeneous cores, and non-uniform memory/non-coherent caches, brings renewed attention to the use of Software Transactional Memory (STM) as a fundamental building block for developing parallel applications. Nevertheless, although STM promises to ease concurrent and parallel software development, it relies on the possibility of aborting conflicting transactions to maintain data consistency, which impacts on the responsiveness and timing guarantees required by embedded real-time systems. In these systems, contention delays must be (efficiently) limited so that the response times of tasks executing transactions are upper-bounded and task sets can be feasibly scheduled. In this paper we assess the use of STM in the development of embedded real-time software, defending that the amount of contention can be reduced if read-only transactions access recent consistent data snapshots, progressing in a wait-free manner. We show how the required number of versions of a shared object can be calculated for a set of tasks. We also outline an algorithm to manage conflicts between update transactions that prevents starvation.

Replication in distributed systems using IEC 61499 standard

The international Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61499 architecture incorporated several function block with which distributed control application may be developed, and how these are interpreted and executed. However, due the distributed nature of the control applications, many issues also need to be taken into account. Most of these are due to the new error model and failure modes of the distributed hardware on which the distributed application is executed and also due the incomplete standards definition of the execution models. IEC 61499 frameworks does not clarify how to handle with replication of software and hardware components. In this paper we propose a replication model for IEC 61499 applications and which mechanisms and protocols may be used for their support.

Bertrand model under incomplete information

We consider a Bertrand duopoly model with unknown costs. The firms' aim is to choose the price of its product according to the well-known concept of Bayesian Nash equilibrium. The chooses are made simultaneously by both firms. In this paper, we suppose that each firm has two different technologies, and uses one of them according to a certain probability distribution. The use of either one or the other technology affects the unitary production cost. We show that this game has exactly one Bayesian Nash equilibrium. We analyse the advantages, for firms and for consumers, of using the technology with highest production cost versus the one with cheapest production cost. We prove that the expected profit of each firm increases with the variance of its production costs. We also show that the expected price of each good increases with both expected production costs, being the effect of the expected production costs of the rival dominated by the effect of the own expected production costs.

The idempotent-separating degree of a block-group

Semigroup Forum, nº76 (2008), pg.579-583

Uma extensão da representação de Munn e o grau de separação dos idempotentes de um block-group

Actas do Encontro de Algebristas Portugueses 2005, Braga, Portugal, Centro de Matemática da Universidade do Minho, (2006),p. 105-116

Price-setting dynamical duopoly with incomplete information

We consider a price competition in a duopoly with substitutable goods, linear and symmetric demand. There is a firm (F 1) that chooses first the price p 1 of its good; the other firm (F 2) observes p 1 and then chooses the price p 2 of its good. The conclusions of this price-setting dynamical duopoly are substantially altered by the presence of either differentiated goods or asymmetric information about rival’s production costs. In this paper, we consider asymmetric information about rival’s production costs. We do ex-ante and ex-post analyses of firms’ profits and market prices. We compare the ex-ante firms’ expected profits with the ex-post firms’ profits.

IDENTIFICATION OF CANINE VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS IN A PREVIOUSLY UNAFFECTED AREA BY CONVENTIONAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES AND CELL-BLOCK FIXATION

After the report of a second case of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in São Bento da Lagoa, Itaipuaçu, in the municipality of Maricá, Rio de Janeiro State, an epidemiological survey was carried out, through active search, totaling 145 dogs. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and rapid chromatographic immunoassay based on dual-path platform (DPP(r)) were used to perform the serological examinations. The parasitological diagnosis of cutaneous fragments was performed by parasitological culture, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry. In the serological assessment, 21 dogs were seropositive by IFA, 17 by ELISA, and 11 by DPP(r), with sensitivity of 66.7%, 66.7% and 50%, and specificity of 87.2%, 90.2% and 94%, respectively for each technique. The immunohistochemistry of bone marrow using the cell-block technique presented the best results, with six positive dogs found, three of which tested negative by the other parasitological techniques. Leishmania sp. was isolated by parasitological culture in three dogs. The detection of autochthonous Leishmania infantum in Itaipuaçu, and the high prevalence of seropositive dogs confirm the circulation of this parasite in the study area and alert for the risk of expansion in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Congenital Complete Atrioventricular Block. Case Report and Review of the Literature

Introduction: Congenital complete atrioventricular block (AVB) without cardiac malformation is a rare and potentially fatal condition. In most cases it is associated with maternal systemic lupus erythematosus through transplacental passage of antibodies anti-SSA/Ro and/or anti-SSB/La. Antenatal fluorinated-steroids have been successful in reversing first and second degree congenital AVB but inconsistent in third degree block. Case Report:The authors report a case of fetal bradycardia diagnosed at 24 weeks of gestation. The fetal echocardiogram revealed a second/third degree AVB without structural heart disease. Maternal anti-SSA/Ro antibodies were detected. There was no blockage improvement with maternal oral fluorinated-steroids. An elective cesarean section was performed at term with the delivery of a healthy girl that required an epicardical pacemaker on the 8th day of life. Conclusion: In this case, treatment with maternal fluorinated corticosteroids was not effective in preventing progression of the heart block.

Pathology of complete atrioventricular block in chronic chagas' myocarditis

Sclero-atrophy, fibrosis, vascular ectasia, phlebosclerosis and mild non-specific chronic inflammatory changes were observed in variable location and proportion involving the atrioventricular conducting tissue of the heart in five human cases of chronic Chagas' myocarditis associated with complete atrioventricular block. One case presented complete destruction of the A-V conduction system. In three cases the lesions were disseminated all along the conducting tissue but did not cause anywhere a complete disruption in the continuity of the system. The distal portion of the bundle branches were the most damaged sector of the system, exceptfor the fasciculi of the posterior division of the left bundle branch which were relatively preserved. One case exhibited bilateral sclero-atrophy of the bundle branches as the main change; and another showed early and mild fibrocalcific damage of the penetrating portion of the His bundle. The A-V node appeared as the least involved part of the conducting system in the cases studied. Demonstration of the lesions in this series of cases seems important because: a) it reveals that complete atrioventriculr block in chronic Chagas' disease results from disseminated lesions and not from focal disruptive change as has been commonly observed in cases of other etiologies; b) it shows that chronic inflammation can produce at the end variable and widespread vascular, degenerative andfibrotic alterations within the conducting tissue of the heart, which may lead to its total destruction.

Corporate finance in general equilibrium models with incomplete markets: A survey

A Masters Thesis, presented as part of the requirements for the award of a Research Masters Degree in Economics from NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Uneventful benznidazole treatment of acute Chagas disease during pregnancy: a case report

This report describes the case of a patient with acute Chagas disease in Tocantins, Brazil, who was unaware of her pregnancy during benznidazole treatment. She presented with impaired cardiac function during the acute phase (pericarditis and incomplete right bundle-branch block) that resolved favorably after benznidazole therapy. Serological results also became negative, as determined by hemagglutination assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and immunofluorescence assays. The child was born without sequelae and showed no evidence of congenital Trypanosoma cruzi infection at birth or 24 days later.

Contributions towards smart cities : exploring block level census data for the characterization of change in Lisbon

The interest in using information to improve the quality of living in large urban areas and its governance efficiency has been around for decades. Nevertheless, the improvements in Information and Communications Technology has sparked a new dynamic in academic research, usually under the umbrella term of Smart Cities. This concept of Smart City can probably be translated, in a simplified version, into cities that are lived, managed and developed in an information-saturated environment. While it makes perfect sense and we can easily foresee the benefits of such a concept, presently there are still several significant challenges that need to be tackled before we can materialize this vision. In this work we aim at providing a small contribution in this direction, which maximizes the relevancy of the available information resources. One of the most detailed and geographically relevant information resource available, for the study of cities, is the census, more specifically the data available at block level (Subsecção Estatística). In this work, we use Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) and the variant Geo-SOM to explore the block level data from the Portuguese census of Lisbon city, for the years of 2001 and 2011. We focus on gauging change, proposing ways that allow the comparison of the two time periods, which have two different underlying geographical bases. We proceed with the analysis of the data using different SOM variants, aiming at producing a two-fold portrait: one, of the evolution of Lisbon during the first decade of the XXI century, another, of how the census dataset and SOM’s can be used to produce an informational framework for the study of cities.