Organic-inorganic nanostructured multilayers for calcium phosphate biomineralization

The weak fixation of biomaterials within the bone structure is one of the major reasons of implants failures. Calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings are used in bone tissue engineering to improve implant osseointegration by enhancing cellular adhesion, proliferation and differentiation, leading to a tight and stable junction between implant and host bone. It has also been observed that materials compatible with bone tissue either have a CaP coating or develop such a calcified surface upon implantation. Thus, the development of bioactive coatings becomes essential for further improvement of integration with the surrounding tissue. However, most of current applied CaP coatings methods (e.g. physical vapor deposition), cannot be applied to complex shapes and porous implants, provide poor structural control over the coating and prevent incorporation of bioactive organic compounds (e.g. antibiotics, growth factors) because of the used harsh processing conditions. Layer-by-layer (LbL) is a versatile technology that permits the building-up of multilayered polyelectrolyte films in mild conditions based on the alternate adsorption of cationic and anionic elements that can integrate bioactive compounds. As it is recognized in natureâ s biomineralization process the presence of an organic template to induce mineral deposition, this work investigate a ion based biomimetic method where all the process is based on LbL methodology made of weak natural-origin polyelectrolytes. A nanostructured multilayer component, with 5 or 10 bilayers, was produced initially using chitosan and chondroitin sulphate polyelectrolyte biopolymers, which possess similarities with the extracellular matrix and good biocompatibility. The multilayers are then rinsed with a sequential passing of solutions containing Ca2+ and PO43- ions. The formation of CaP over the polyelectrolyte multilayers was confirmed by QCM-D, SEM and EDX. The outcomes show that 10 polyelectrolyte bilayer condition behaved as a  better site for initiating the formation of CaP as the precipitation occur at earlier stages than in 5 polyelectrolyte bilayers one. This denotes that higher number of bilayers could hold the CaP crystals more efficiently. This work achieved uniform coatings that can be applied to any surface with access to the liquid media in a low-temperature method, which potentiates the manufacture of effective bioactive biomaterials with great potential in orthopedic applications.

Vehicle-to-anything application (v2anything app) for electric vehicles

This paper presents a mobile information system denominated as Vehicle-to-Anything Application (V2Anything App), and explains its conceptual aspects. This application is aimed at giving relevant information to Full Electric Vehicle (FEV) drivers, by supporting the integration of several sources of data in a mobile application, thus contributing to the deployment of the electric mobility process. The V2Anything App provides recommendations to the drivers about the FEV range autonomy, location of battery charging stations, information of the electricity market, and also a route planner taking into account public transportations and car or bike sharing systems. The main contributions of this application are related with the creation of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform, recommender systems, data integration systems, driver profile, and personalized range prediction. Thus, it is possible to deliver relevant information to the FEV drivers related with the electric mobility process, electricity market, public transportation, and the FEV performance.

Produtos têxteis inteligentes incorporando filamentos compósitos com nanotubos de carbono

Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Têxtil.

Transformando o espaço educativo numa comunidade de aprendizagem

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

Programa de atividade física e saúde - Projeto M&M: análise da intervenção relativamente ao IMC e aptidão cardiorrespiratória

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Ensino de Educação Física nos Ensinos Básico e Secundário

Safety classification using GIS in decision-making process to define priority road interventions

Given the current economic situation of the Portuguese municipalities, it is necessary to identify the priority investments in order to achieve a more efficient financial management. The classification of the road network of the municipality according to the occurrence of traffic accidents is fundamental to set priorities for road interventions. This paper presents a model for road network classification based on traffic accidents integrated in a geographic information system. Its practical application was developed through a case study in the municipality of Barcelos. An equation was defined to obtain a road safety index through the combination of the following indicators: severity, property damage only and accident costs. In addition to the road network classification, the application of the model allows to analyze the spatial coverage of accidents in order to determine the centrality and dispersion of the locations with the highest incidence of road accidents. This analysis can be further refined according to the nature of the accidents namely in collision, runoff and pedestrian crashes.

Defining risk acceptance criteria in occupational settings: A case study in the furniture industrial sector

The use of appropriate acceptance criteria in the risk assessment process for occupational accidents is an important issue but often overlooked in the literature, particularly when new risk assessment methods are proposed and discussed. In most cases, there is no information on how or by whom they were defined, or even how companies can adapt them to their own circumstances. Bearing this in mind, this study analysed the problem of the definition of risk acceptance criteria for occupational settings, defining the quantitative acceptance criteria for the specific case study of the Portuguese furniture industrial sector. The key steps to be considered in formulating acceptance criteria were analysed in the literature review. By applying the identified steps, the acceptance criteria for the furniture industrial sector were then defined. The Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) for the injury statistics of the industrial sector was identified as the maximum tolerable risk level. The acceptable threshold was defined by adjusting the CDF to the Occupational, Safety & Health (OSH) practitioners’ risk acceptance judgement. Adjustments of acceptance criteria to the companies’ safety cultures were exemplified by adjusting the Burr distribution parameters. An example of a risk matrix was also used to demonstrate the integration of the defined acceptance criteria into a risk metric. This work has provided substantial contributions to the issue of acceptance criteria for occupational accidents, which may be useful in overcoming the practical difficulties faced by authorities, companies and experts.

Process simulation support in BPM tools: The case of BPMN

Due to the increasing acceptance of BPM, nowadays BPM tools are extensively used in organizations. Core to BPM are the process modeling languages, of which BPMN is the one that has been receiving most attention these days. Once a business process is described using BPMN, one can use a process simulation approach in order to find its optimized form. In this context, the simulation of business processes, such as those defined in BPMN, appears as an obvious way of improving processes. This paper analyzes the business process modeling and simulation areas, identifying the elements that must be present in the BPMN language in order to allow processes described in BPMN to be simulated. During this analysis a set of existing BPM tools, which support BPMN, are compared regarding their limitations in terms of simulation support.

Avaliação do processo de implementação de PBL num curso de engenharia informática em Moçambique: as percepções dos estudantes

O presente artigo traz uma avaliação sobre um processo de implementação do PBL que ocorreu no curso de Engenharia Informática na Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane em Moçambique. Por este processo ser novo no contexto de ensino de Engenharia em Moçambique foram os desafios encontrados por parte dos docentes e estudantes relativos a implementação, coordenação e adequação do currículo a metodologia do PBL, fazendo com que o processo de implementação fosse gradual. Assim no primeiro semestre de 2014 foi implementado um processo PBL piloto envolvendo as disciplinas de Programação Orientada à Objetos 1 e Base de Dados 1, que foram disciplinas escolhidas pelo facto de seus currículos terem matérias comuns, todos desafios e comentários dados pelos estudantes foram levados em conta no desenho do segundo processo PBL para o segundo semestre de 2014 que envolveu as disciplinas de Programação Orientada à Objetos 2, Base de Dados 2 e Sistemas de Multimídia fazendo com que houvesse mais informação para o terceiro processo envolvendo as disciplinas de Engenharia de Software 1 e Programação em Web. A avaliação do processo por parte dos estudantes, veio através de inquiridos onde os estudantes fizeram chegar as suas preocupações e ideias a respeito do PBL e dos moldes em que este estava a ser implementado no currículo. O processo de implementação do PBL pode ser considerado uma experiência bem sucedida e com futuro promissor e que de certeza vai ajudar a inovar os processos de ensino de engenharia em Moçambique.

Aplicação do Building Information Modeling na gestão de projetos de construção

Dissertação de mestrado em Construção e Reabilitação Sustentáveis

A documentação pedagógica no trabalho de projeto: relato de uma experiência em contexto de jardim-de-infância

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

Limitations and improvements to the risk assessment process in Olive Oil Mills: the views of OSH practitioners

Although most of the accidents occurred in Olive Oil Mill (OOM) resulted from “basic” risks, there is a need to apply adequate tools to support risk decisions that can meet the specificities of this sector. This study aims to analyse the views of Occupational, Safety & Health (OSH) practitioners about the risk assessment process in OOM, identifying the key difficulties inherent to the risk assessment process in these sector, as well as identifying some improvements to the current practice. This analysis was based on a questionnaire that was developed and applied to 13 OSH practitioners working at OOM. The results showed that the time available to perform the risk assessment is the more frequent limitation. They believe that the methodologies available are not an important limitation to this process. However, a specific risk assessment methodology, that includes acceptance criteria adjusted to the OOM reality, using risk metrics supported on the frequency of accidents and workdays lost, were indicated as being also an important contributions improve the process. A semi-quantitative approach, complemented with the use of the sector accident statistics, can be a good solution for this sector. However, further strategies should also be adopted, mainly those that can lead to an easy application of the risk assessment process.

Conceptual-physical bridging – From BPMN models to physical implementations on kettle

Developing and implementing data-oriented workflows for data migration processes are complex tasks involving several problems related to the integration of data coming from different schemas. Usually, they involve very specific requirements - every process is almost unique. Having a way to abstract their representation will help us to better understand and validate them with business users, which is a crucial step for requirements validation. In this demo we present an approach that provides a way to enrich incrementally conceptual models in order to support an automatic way for producing their correspondent physical implementation. In this demo we will show how B2K (Business to Kettle) system works transforming BPMN 2.0 conceptual models into Kettle data-integration executable processes, approaching the most relevant aspects related to model design and enrichment, model to system transformation, and system execution.

Thermal conditions affecting heat transfer in FDM/FFE: a contribution towards the numerical modelling of the process

The performance of parts produced by Free Form Extrusion (FFE), an increasingly popular additive manufacturing technique, depends mainly on their dimensional accuracy, surface quality and mechanical performance. These attributes are strongly influenced by the evolution of the filament temperature and deformation during deposition and solidification. Consequently, the availability of adequate process modelling software would offer a powerful tool to support efficient process set-up and optimisation. This work examines the contribution to the overall heat transfer of various thermal phenomena developing during the manufacturing sequence, including convection and radiation with the environment, conduction with support and between adjacent filaments, radiation between adjacent filaments and convection with entrapped air. The magnitude of the mechanical deformation is also studied. Once this exercise is completed, it is possible to select the material properties, process variables and thermal phenomena that should be taken in for effective numerical modelling of FFE.

Pervasive business intelligence platform to improve the quality of decision process in primary and secondary education – A Portuguese case study

Business Intelligence (BI) can be seen as a method that gathers information and data from information systems in order to help companies to be more accurate in their decision-making process. Traditionally BI systems were associated with the use of Data Warehouses (DW). The prime purpose of DW is to serve as a repository that stores all the relevant information required for making the correct decision. The necessity to integrate streaming data became crucial with the need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the decision process. In primary and secondary education, there is a lack of BI solutions. Due to the schools reality the main purpose of this study is to provide a Pervasive BI solution able to monitoring the schools and student data anywhere and anytime in real-time as well as disseminating the information through ubiquitous devices. The first task consisted in gathering data regarding the different choices made by the student since his enrolment in a certain school year until the end of it. Thereafter a dimensional model was developed in order to be possible building a BI platform. This paper presents the dimensional model, a set of pre-defined indicators, the Pervasive Business Intelligence characteristics and the prototype designed. The main contribution of this study was to offer to the schools a tool that could help them to make accurate decisions in real-time. Data dissemination was achieved through a localized application that can be accessed anywhere and anytime.