Dermic diffusion and stratum corneum: a state of the art review of mathematical models

Transdermal biotechnologies are an ever increasing field of interest, due to the medical and pharmaceutical applications that they underlie. There are several mathematical models at use that permit a more inclusive vision of pure experimental data and even allow practical extrapolation for new dermal diffusion methodologies. However, they grasp a complex variety of theories and assumptions that allocate their use for specific situations. Models based on Fick's First Law found better use in contexts where scaled particle theory Models would be extensive in time-span but the reciprocal is also true, as context of transdermal diffusion of particular active compounds changes. This article reviews extensively the various theoretical methodologies for studying dermic diffusion in the rate limiting dermic barrier, the stratum corneum, and systematizes its characteristics, their proper context of application, advantages and limitations, as well as future perspectives.

Engineering real-time applications with WorldFIP: tools and analysis

WorldFIP is standardised as European Norm EN 50170 - General Purpose Field Communication System. Field communication systems (fieldbuses) started to be widely used as the communication support for distributed computer-controlled systems (DCCS), and are being used in all sorts of process control and manufacturing applications within different types of industries. There are several advantages in using fieldbuses as a replacement of for the traditional point-to-point links between sensors/actuators and computer-based control systems. Indeed they concern economical ones (cable savings) but, importantly, fieldbuses allow an increased decentralisation and distribution of the processing power over the field. Typically DCCS have real-time requirements that must be fulfilled. By this, we mean that process data must be transferred between network computing nodes within a maximum admissible time span. WorldFIP has very interesting mechanisms to schedule data transfers. It explicit distinguishes to types of traffic: periodic and aperiodic. In this paper we describe how WorldFIP handles these two types of traffic, and more importantly, we provide a comprehensive analysis for guaranteeing the real-time requirements of both types of traffic. A major contribution is made in the analysis of worst-case response time of aperiodic transfer requests.

Revestimento de pisos em madeira para interiores

Dissertação para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Modelação do viaduto do Corgo durante o ensaio de carga estático

Trabalho Final de Mestrado elaborado no Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC) para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil pelo Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa no âmbito do protocolo de cooperação entre o ISEL e o LNEC

Self-reported hearing performance in workers exposed to solvents

OBJECTIVE: To compare hearing performance relating to the peripheral and central auditory system between solvent-exposed and non-exposed workers. METHODS: Forty-eight workers exposed to a mixture of solvents and 48 non-exposed control subjects of matched age, gender and educational level were selected to participate in the study. The evaluation procedures included: pure-tone audiometry (500 - 8,000 Hz), to investigate the peripheral auditory system; the Random Gap Detection test, to assess the central auditory system; and the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap, to investigate subjects' self-reported hearing performance in daily-life activities. A Student t test and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were computed to determine possible significant differences between solvent-exposed and non-exposed subjects for the hearing level, Random Gap Detection test and Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap. Pearson correlations among the three measures were also calculated. RESULTS: Solvent-exposed subjects exhibited significantly poorer hearing thresholds for the right ear than non-exposed subjects. Also, solvent-exposed subjects exhibited poorer results for the Random Gap Detection test and self-reported poorer listening performance than non-exposed subjects. Results of the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap were significantly correlated with the binaural average of subject pure-tone thresholds and Random Gap Detection test performance. CONCLUSIONS: Solvent exposure is associated with poorer hearing performance in daily life activities that relate to the function of the peripheral and central auditory system.

Relatório de estágio

I (Prática Pedagógica)- No que se refere à secção da tese dedicada ao estágio, esta pretende desenvolver uma síntese do que se passou ao longo deste ano lectivo. Durante o ano lectivo 2012/2013, tive a oportunidade de assistir a aulas ministradas pela professora Ana Valente. A tese procura focar variados aspectos das aulas a que assisti. De uma forma geral, o relatório do estágio evidencia vários aspectos: metodologias de ensino, questões motivacionais, relação aluno/professor, questões de disciplina, entre outras. No decorrer das aulas, foi possível constatar muitas dessas questões na prática. Tentei registar as actividades desenvolvidas nas aulas relativas a várias questões, nomeadamente questões relacionadas com a prática do instrumento, assim como outras relacionadas com a noção de musicalidade. Como resultado, esta secção apresenta diversos tipos de estratégias de ensino, ilustrando exemplos práticos que efectivamente se passaram nas aulas. É essencialmente, uma secção dedicada à reflexão sobre metodologias de ensino e estudo. A segunda parte desta secção é relativa à análise das gravações das aulas dadas por mim e pretende sobretudo focar-se na crítica pessoal. É uma parte importante do estágio, em que tenho a oportunidade de observar a minha forma pedagógica de lidar com os alunos. Por fim, a terceira parte do relatório refere-se à observação crítica da abordagem da professora tendo por base o meu ponto de vista. Esta parte pretende essencialmente descrever e analisar a forma como a professora dá as aulas. Com base no que disse anteriormente, esta parte do trabalho mostra mais em detalhe as metodologias e estratégias de ensino utilizadas pela professora em questão. De um modo geral, esta secção pretende descrever as três vertentes que mencionei anteriormente (relatório das aulas, análise das gravações, observação crítica ao método pedagógico da professora).

Paralophiodon cf. leptorhynchum (tapiroidea, mammalia) à Vale Furado: contribution à la connaissance de l’éocène au Portugal

A canine tooth from Vale Furado is classified as Paralophiodon cf. leptorhynchum. The genus Paralophiodon indicates an age from Lower Lutetian to Auversian, Middle Eocene. As it belongs in the lineage of P. leptorhynchum, possible age span is furth~L~uced from Middle Lutetian to Auversian. This conclusion remains valid or nearly so even in the less probable case of confusion with some form included in P. isselensis lineage. Our previous (1975) datation for sandstones and pelites from Vale Furado is thus confirmed, and more accurately recognized. Paralophiodon and the crocodilian Iberosuchus are a rather sound basis for correlation with stratigraphical units near Zamora and Salamanca in Spain.

Contribuição para a datação do conglomerado de Odeáxere

According to P. Choffat, Odeáxere conglomerate was Oxfordian in age, and would represent the unconformity between Malm and Dogger. Choffat's opinion was based exclusively in a lithological comparison with conglomerates from Arrábida; these conglomerates are now reported to the Dogger, as they are intercalated between beds with Timidonella sarda. However, in the mesogean realm, the stratigraphical position of T. sarda in the Dogger is still not accurately known. Some authors think its range would extend from Aalenian until the Bajocian, yet others think it would be more restricted, from Aalenian to the lower Bajocian only. Its stratigraphical span seems to be even more restricted in Algarve: uppermost Aalenian to lowermost Bajocian.

Energy efficient scheduling for cluster-tree wireless sensor networks with time-bounded data flows: application to IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee

Cluster scheduling and collision avoidance are crucial issues in large-scale cluster-tree Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The paper presents a methodology that provides a Time Division Cluster Scheduling (TDCS) mechanism based on the cyclic extension of RCPS/TC (Resource Constrained Project Scheduling with Temporal Constraints) problem for a cluster-tree WSN, assuming bounded communication errors. The objective is to meet all end-to-end deadlines of a predefined set of time-bounded data flows while minimizing the energy consumption of the nodes by setting the TDCS period as long as possible. Sinceeach cluster is active only once during the period, the end-to-end delay of a given flow may span over several periods when there are the flows with opposite direction. The scheduling tool enables system designers to efficiently configure all required parameters of the IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee beaconenabled cluster-tree WSNs in the network design time. The performance evaluation of thescheduling tool shows that the problems with dozens of nodes can be solved while using optimal solvers.

Human-Human Collaboration in Virtual Teams

Extended and networked enterprises distribute the design of products, planning of the production process, and manufacturing regionally if not globally. Employees are therefore confronted with collaborative work over remote sites. A cost effective collaboration depends highly on the organization maintaining a common understanding for this kind of work and a suitable support with information and communication technology. The usual face to face work is going to be replaced at least partly if not totally by computer mediated collaboration. Creating and maintaining virtual teams is a challenge to work conditions as well as technology. New developments on cost-effective connections are providing not only vision and auditory perception but also haptic perception. Research results for improving remote collaboration are presented. Individual, social and cultural aspects are considered as new requirements on the employees of networked and extended enterprises.

A wireless sensor network platform for structural health monitoring: enabling accurate and synchronized measurements through COTS+custom-based design

Structural health monitoring has long been identified as a prominent application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), as traditional wired-based solutions present some inherent limitations such as installation/maintenance cost, scalability and visual impact. Nevertheless, there is a lack of ready-to-use and off-the-shelf WSN technologies that are able to fulfill some most demanding requirements of these applications, which can span from critical physical infrastructures (e.g. bridges, tunnels, mines, energy grid) to historical buildings or even industrial machinery and vehicles. Low-power and low-cost yet extremely sensitive and accurate accelerometer and signal acquisition hardware and stringent time synchronization of all sensors data are just examples of the requirements imposed by most of these applications. This paper presents a prototype system for health monitoring of civil engineering structures that has been jointly conceived by a team of civil, and electrical and computer engineers. It merges the benefits of standard and off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and communication technologies with a minimum set of custom-designed signal acquisition hardware that is mandatory to fulfill all application requirements.

Projecto de execução do centro comercial Mercado da Praia: Cidade da Praia: Cabo Verde

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Projecto de obras de arte especiais pré-fabricadas: viaduto

Trabalho de Projecto para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização em Estruturas

Prescribed burning impact on forest soil properties – a fuzzy boolean nets approach

The Portuguese northern forests are often and severely affected by wildfires during the Summer season. These occurrences significantly affect and negatively impact all ecosystems, namely soil, fauna and flora. In order to reduce the occurrences of natural wildfires, some measures to control the availability of fuel mass are regularly implemented. Those preventive actions concern mainly prescribed burnings and vegetation pruning. This work reports on the impact of a prescribed burning on several forest soil properties, namely pH, soil moisture, organic matter content and iron content, by monitoring the soil self-recovery capabilities during a one year span. The experiments were carried out in soil cover over a natural site of Andaluzitic schist, in Gramelas, Caminha, Portugal, which was kept intact from prescribed burnings during a period of four years. Soil samples were collected from five plots at three different layers (0–3, 3–6 and 6–18) 1 day before prescribed fire and at regular intervals after the prescribed fire. This paper presents an approach where Fuzzy Boolean Nets (FBN) and Fuzzy reasoning are used to extract qualitative knowledge regarding the effect of prescribed fire burning on soil properties. FBN were chosen due to the scarcity on available quantitative data. The results showed that soil properties were affected by prescribed burning practice and were unable to recover their initial values after one year.

A qualitative description of soil parameters variation due to a prescribed fire in Portuguese northwestern forests using Fuzzy Boolean Nets — The case study of Cabreira mountain

In this paper we study the modifications that occurred in some forest soil properties after a prescribed fire. The research focused on the alterations of soil pH, soil moisture and soil organic matter content during a two-year span, from 2008 to 2009. The study site is located in Anjos, Vieira do Minho municipality, a forest site that has suffered from recurrent wildfires for several decades. Furze (Ulex, sp.), broom (Cytisus, sp.), gorse (Chamaespartum tridentatum) and a very few disperse adult pine (Pinus sylvestris) are the predominant vegetation type in the study area. The average height of this shrub vegetation is around 1.5 m. The prescribed fire was conducted by the National Forestry Authority (AFN) in November 2008. Fuzzy Boolean Nets (FBN) were used to evaluate the alteration in soil parameters when compared with adjacent spots where: i) no fire occurrence was registered since 1998; ii) fire occurrence was registered in 2008; and iii) vegetation pruning by mechanical cut was done in Spring six months prior to the prescribed fire event. Results suggest that in the particular case of the studied site, Anjos, the observed soil properties alterations cannot be related with the prescribed fire.