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A strawberry spreadable cream was developed, valorizing regional raw materials, contributing to food waste reduction and agri-food ecosystem sustainability. Spreadable creams are water-in-oil emulsions whose lipid phase normally contains a blend of vegetable oils, natural colourants, stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavourings, antioxidants, lecithin, and fat-soluble vitamins. The aqueous phase normally contains skim milk proteins and small quantities of other ingredients, such as salt, preservatives, thickeners, and water-soluble vitamins. The methodology involved the experimental technological development articulated with microbiological, proximal, physicochemical, and sensorial analysis. This new product revealed nutritional advantages over similar products already on the market. The final prototype was subjected to food pairing and food design with incremental acceptance according to gastronomic use, in addition to its direct use as a spreadable cream. This work was part of the project Agrio et Emulsio—new products development (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-023583), whose main objective was the formulation and design of innovative food emulsions based on processed raw materials, with potential application in certain markets such as gourmet, diet, and vegan.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases and it is strongly associated with age. There are four AD stages: mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild, moderate (ADM) and advanced (ADA). This work aims at developing a new tool capable of distinguishing the different stages of AD at scalp level. Features such as the conventional frequencies relative power of the power spectrum wavelet packet transform have been extracted from the electroencephalogram signals in order to feed four classifiers: random forest decision trees, linear and quadratic support-vector-machines and linear discriminant analysis. The obtained results were analyzed through topographic maps and enabled the distinguish between binary groups with the following overall accuracies: 85.5% (C-MCI); 88.2% (C-ADM); 91.4% (C-ADA); 89.7% (MCI-ADM); 82.4% (MCI-ADA) and 81.3% (ADM-ADA). The applied method was able to detect major differences in scalp areas above the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain as AD progresses.

This study evaluates the simulation of water balance components at half-hourly time steps from the Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) when driven by a 500-year stochastic meteorological data set produced by the Advanced WEather GENerator (AWE-GEN) at two boreal sites with contrasting water availability. The CLASS was driven by ERA5 reanalysis data (CLASS-CTL) over 39 years and its output was used as a surrogate for land surface observations. At both sites, the mean monthly and annual values of all meteorological variables used to drive CLASS, including precipitation, are well captured by AWE-GEN, but their variability is, sometimes, biased. In general, CLASS driven by stochastic data (CLASS-WG) tends to produce higher evapotranspiration compared to values simulated by CLASS-CTL, especially during spring and summer at the wet site. The interannual evapotranspiration-precipitation and runoff-precipitation relationships derived from CLASS-WG and those derived from CLASS-CTL were very similar to each other at the dry site; they both indicate that evapotranspiration and runoff are limited by water availability. At the wet site, however, CLASS-WG only captured well the interannual runoff-precipitation relationship. The sensitivity analysis shows that CLASS water fluxes are particularly affected by the replacement of physically consistent input time series of incoming short-wave radiation, precipitation, temperature, and specific humidity. In conclusion, the results show that even though a weather generator can produce coherent climate time series, the use of this synthetic data as meteorological forcing in a physically based land surface model does not necessarily reproduce the complex surface processes, such as the surface water fluxes. More studies are encouraged to further analyze the constraints of this framework.

The Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) has been applied over the years in coupled and uncoupled (offline) modes at local, regional, and global scales using various forcing datasets. In this study, CLASS is applied at a local scale in the offline configuration to evaluate its performance when driven by the ERA5 reanalysis. Simulated surface energy fluxes, as well as several other water balance components, are investigated at four sites across the Canadian boreal biome. The results from CLASS driven by ERA5 (CLASS-RNL) are compared with available in situ measurements, as well as with results from CLASS driven by observations (CLASS-CTL). Additional simulations are conducted to evaluate the effects of biases in the ERA5 precipitation, where CLASS is forced by ERA5 data, but with ERA5 precipitation being replaced by observed precipitation (CLASS-RNL-ObsP). The results show that simulated surface variables in CLASS-RNL are in good agreement with observations as well as with those simulated in CLASS-CTL. The CLASS-RNL captures well the observed annual cycles of the surface energy and water fluxes, as well as the year-to-year variation of snow depth, soil temperature, and soil moisture. A strong correlation is found between the observed and CLASS-RNL simulated snow depth and soil temperature. Biases in the ERA5 precipitation did not affect the simulation of soil state variables, whereas the simulated surface heat and water fluxes, as well as the snow depth, were significantly affected. For instance, the simulated runoff in CLASS-RNL is much higher than in CLASS-RNL-ObsP and CLASS-CTL at the most humid sites due to significant positive bias in ERA5 precipitation.

O custo do processamento de uma consulta em sistemas de banco de dados distribuídos liga-se diretamente ao custo da transferência de dados na rede. A Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) e uma tecnologia que permite (re)programar dispositivos de rede via software. Sua programabilidade proporciona novas possibilidades para gerenciar topologias de forma dinâmica, possibilitando ainda o processamento de dados nesses dispositivos. Este artigo avalia o processamento distribuído da operação hash join em switches de rede, a partir de um modelo de custo. Os resultados mostram que o processamento dessas operações em switches de rede alcança desempenho comparável ao processamento tradicional em servidores com um trafego de dados similar.

Este trabalho apresenta os resultados preliminares de um algoritmo em desenvolvimento para detecção em tempo real de estados emocionais através da análise de imagens do rosto. Para avaliar o estado emocional, o algoritmo de Viola-Jones é aplicado para segmentar o rosto e uma rede neural convolucional (CNN) é utilizada para classificar as imagens analisadas. Os resultados demonstram uma acurácia de 96,18% na classificação do grupo de teste. Ainda assim, o algoritmo será otimizado para uma melhor detecção e a base de dados utilizada deverá ser ampliada de forma a generalizar os resultados., This paper presents the preliminary results of an under development algorithm for emotional states real-time detection through an analysis of face images. In order to evaluate the emotional state, the Viola-Jones algorithm is applied to segment the face and a convolutional neural network (CNN) is used to classify the analyzed images. The results show an accuracy of 96.18% for the classification of the test group. The algorithm still need to be optimized for better face detection and the used database must be extended in order to generalize the results.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo diferenciar distúrbios vocais relacionados com nódulo vocal e edema de Reinke através de parâmetros não-lineares. Os parâmetros são obtidos da banda completa e, por meio da transformada wavelet, de sub-bandas de vogal sustentada. A wavelet que maximiza a capacidade discriminante individual dos parâmetros é buscada. Duas seleções dos parâmetros em sub-bandas são realizadas. Os parâmetros em banda completa e em sub-bandas, e os conjuntos selecionados são aplicados a vários classificadores com validação cruzada leave-one-out. Acurácias de classificação de até 86,2% são obtidas sem seleção de parâmetros enquanto acurácias até 100% são alcançadas com parâmetros selecionados., This work aims to detect vocal disorders related to vocal nodule and Reinke’s edema through non-linear features. The features are computed from the fullband and, by means of the wavelet transform, from sub-bands of sustained vowel. The wavelet that maximizes the individual discriminating capacity of the features is sought. Two sub-band parameter selections are performed. The fullband and sub-band parameters, and the selected sets are applied to several classifiers with leave-one-out cross-validation. Classification accuracies of up to 86.2% are obtained without parameter selection while accuracies of up to 100% are achieved with selected parameters.

Orientador: Luiz Valdrighi Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracica Resumo: O propósito desta pesquisa foi avaliar "in vitro" os diferentes métodos de colocação de pasta curativa de hidróxido de cálcio em canais radiculares. Foram confeccionados 120 blocos de resina acrilica transparente simulando canais radiculares com diâmetros de matriz apical de 0,30 mm (curvos) 0,50 mm, 0,80 mm, 1,20 mm e 1,40 mm. Os métodos testados foram: Limas K girando em sentido anti-horário, Espiral de Lentulo girando em sentido horário, Compactadores de McSpadden girando em sentido horário, Canal Finder, Ultra-Som e Seringas, em 4 canais de cada diâmetro. A eficácia foi avaliada, mediante exame radiográfico nos terços cervical, médio e apical, verificando o grau de compactação dos. canais preenchidos. A Espiral de Lentulo foi o método mais eficiente, seguido em ordem pelas Limas e Compactadores de McSpadden, principalmente no terço apical. A injeção pelas Seringas, Canal Finder e Ultra-Som mostraram-se pouco eficientes. O tempo gasto para a colocação da pasta curativa de hidróxido de cálcio foi pequeno, independente do método, sendo considerado um fator irrelevante Abstract: The purpose of this research was evaluate "in vitro" the different insertion methods of calcium hydroxide paste into root canais. One hundred and twenty blocks were made with c1ear plastic blocks simulating root canais with apicaI matrix diameters with 0,30 mm (with curves), 0,50 mm, 0,80 mm, 1,20 mm and 1,40 mm. The tested methods were: counterclock wise rotation of K Files, c1ockwise rotation of Lentulo Spiral, c1ockwise rotation of McSpadden Compactors, Canal Finder, Ultrasound and Syringes at 4 canais of each diameter. This efficiency was evaluated through radiograph examination in the thirds cervical, haIf and apicaI checking the completed canais compactation level. The most efficient method was the Lentulo Spiral, followed by the Files and McSpaddtm Compactors, main1y at the apical one third. The Syringe injection, CanaI Finder and Ultrasound were little efficient. The used time was minimum, and it was considered as an irrelevant factor Mestrado Farmacologia Mestre em Ciências

Meteorological measurements were performed on the non-glaciated coastal area of the Ferraz Station, the Brazilian Antarctic Station, at King George Island. Near the Station there are different topographic attributes, such as sea, glacier and hill, in addition to the intermittent presence of snow. The local atmospheric characteristics depend on wind direction, which is related in small scale to the local features and in large scale to the synoptic systems acting over the region. Westerly winds were the most frequent, with relatively lower speed and higher temperature and humidity values compared to the also frequent easterly winds, related to the coolest and driest winds. The average monthly barometric pressure and wind speed were higher during winter, associated with the presence of high-pressure systems. The radiation balance, measured for the first time in Ferraz Station, evidenced the presence of clouds throughout the year, especially during summer months, associated with the frequent synoptic systems of the region. During nighttimes (daytimes) and in winter (summer) months, the surface lost (gained) energy mainly by net longwave (shortwave) radiation. Reflected shortwave radiation was higher during spring months because of the its relatively higher albedo values combined with the already increased magnitude of the incident shortwave radiation.

O sistema de nuvem, como importante fornecedor de serviços escaláveis online, trouxe consigo um novo campo de pesquisa. Este trabalho propõe uma ferramenta que efetue o monitoramento, a caracterização e a reprodução das atividades e consumo de CPU, memória RAM e tráfego de rede de um ambiente de nuvem Infrastructure as a Service, apresentando uma solução que apoia a pesquisa e o caráter reprodutível do método científico.

Cold content (CC) is an internal energy state within a snowpack and is defined by the energy deficit required to attain isothermal snowmelt temperature (0 °C). For any snowpack, fulfilling the cold content deficit is a pre-requisite before the onset of the snowmelt. Cold content for a given snowpack thus plays a critical role because it affects both the timing and the rate of snowmelt. Estimating the cold content is a labour-intensive task as it requires extracting in-situ snow temperature and density. Hence, few studies have focused on characterizing this snowpack variable. This study describes the multilayer cold content of a snowpack and its variability across four sites with contrasting canopy structures within a coniferous boreal forest in southern Québec, Canada, throughout winter 2017–18. The analysis was divided into two steps. In the first step, the observed CC data from weekly snowpits for 60 % of the snow cover period were examined. During the second step, a reconstructed time series of CC was produced and analyzed to highlight the high-resolution temporal variability of CC for the full snow cover period. To accomplish this, the Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS; featuring a single-layer snow model) was first implemented to obtain simulations of the average snow density at each of the four sites. Next, an empirical procedure was used to produce realistic density profiles, which, when combined with in situ continuous snow temperature measurements from an automatic profiling station, provides a time series of CC estimates at half-hour intervals for the entire winter. At the four sites, snow persisted on the ground for 218 days, with melt events occurring on 42 of those days. Based on snowpit observations, the largest mean CC (−2.62 MJ m−2) was observed at the site with the thickest snow cover. The maximum difference in mean CC between the four study sites was −0.47 MJ m−2, representing a site-to-site variability of 20 %. Before analyzing the reconstructed CC time series, a comparison with snowpit data confirmed that CLASS yielded reasonable estimates of the snow water equivalent (SWE) (R2 = 0.64 and percent bias (Pbias) = −17.1 %), bulk snow density (R2 = 0.71 and Pbias = 1.6 %), and bulk cold content (R2 = 0.90 and Pbias = −2.0 %). A snow density profile derived by utilizing an empirical formulation also provided reasonable estimates of cold content (R2 = 0.42 and Pbias = 5.17 %). Thanks to these encouraging results, the reconstructed and continuous CC series could be analyzed at the four sites, revealing the impact of rain-on-snow and cold air pooling episodes on the variation of CC. The continuous multilayer cold content time series also provided us with information about the effect of stand structure, local topography, and meteorological conditions on cold content variability. Additionally, a weak relationship between canopy structure and CC was identified.

Achieving a balanced healthcare workforce requires health planners to adjust the supply of health human resources (HHR). Mathematical programming models have been widely used to assist such planning, but the way uncertainty is usually considered in these models entails methodological and practical issues and often disregards radical yet plausible changes to the future. This study proposes a new socio-technical methodology to factor in uncertainty over the future within mathematical programming modelling. The methodological approach makes use of foresight and scenario planning concepts to build tailor-made scenarios and scenario fit input parameters, which are then used within mathematical programming models. Health stakeholders and experts are engaged in the scenario building process. Causal map modelling and morphological analysis are adopted to digest stakeholders and experts’ information about the future and give origin to contrasting and meaningful scenarios describing plausible future. These scenarios are then adjusted and validated by stakeholders and experts, who then elicit their best quantitative estimates for coherent combinations of input parameters for the mathematical programming model under each scenario. These sets of parameters for each scenario are then fed to the mathematical programming model to obtain optimal solutions that can be interpreted in light of the meaning of the scenario. The proposed methodology has been applied to a case study involving HHR planning in Portugal, but its scope far extends HHR planning, being especially suited for addressing strategic and policy planning problems that are sensitive to input parameters. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Objective: This study aims to distinguish, at early stages, patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and healthy control (CTL) subjects using a nonlinear multiband electroencephalography (EEG)-based procedure. Method: An EEG nonlinear multiband analysis was performed in order to extract features for feeding several classifiers (such as decision trees, support vector machines, K-nearestneighbours, and logistic regression) within a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure. Results: The comparison between (a) PD versus AD groups reached classification accuracies of 100% on at least one channel of δ, θ, α, and β bands; (b) AD versus CTL groups provided accuracies of 100% on at least one channel in δ band; (c) PD versus CTL groups reached 100% of accuracy on at least one channel of γ and δ bands; and (d) the combination of PD and AD groups versus CTL group provided an accuracy of 90.6% in the θ band. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that patients may benefit from careful monitoring for early signs of change in the EEG pattern in both AD and PD.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo detectar distúrbios vocais relacionados com nódulo vocal, edema de Reinke e patologias neurológicas através de parâmetros cepstrais multibandada vogal sustentada /a/. A detecção é realizada entre pares de grupos de estudo e a análise multibanda é efetuada usando a transformada Wavelet. Para cada par de grupos, uma seleção de parâmetros é realizada. Estatísticas dos parâmetros selecionados são utilizadas como entrada para quatro classificadores com validação cruza da leave-one-out. Acurácias de classificação iguais ou superiores a 96,70% são obtidas para 6 pares de grupos de estudo enquanto apenas 74,20% é alcançado para o par Edema/Nódulo., This work aims to detect vocal disorders related to vocal nodule, Reinke’s edema and neurological pathologies through multiband cepstral measures of the sustained vowel/a/. Detection is performed between pairs of study groups and multiband analysis is accomplished using the Wavelet transform. For each pair of groups, a parameters selection is performed. Statistics of the selected parameters are used as input for four classifiers with leave-one-out cross validation. Classification accuracies equal or greater than 96.70% are obtained for 6pairs of study groups while only 74.20% is achieved for the Edema/Nodule pair

Output-only methods are widely used to characterize the dynamic behavior of very diverse structures. However, their application to floating structures may be limited due to their strong nonlinear behavior. Therefore, since there is very little experience on the application of these experimental tools to these very peculiar structures, it is very important to develop studies, either based on numerical simulations or on real experimental data, to better understand their potential and limitations. In an initial phase, the use of numerical simulations permits a better control of all the involved variables. In this work, the Covariance-driven Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI-COV) algorithm is applied to numerically simulated data of two different solutions to Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) and for its capability of tracking the rigid body motion modal properties and susceptibility to different modeling restrictions and environmental conditions tested. The feasibility of applying the methods in an automated fashion in the processing of a large number of datasets is also evaluated. While the structure natural frequencies were consistently obtained from all the simulations, some difficulties were observed in the estimation of the mode shape components in the most changeling scenarios. The estimated modal damping coefficients were in good agreement with the expected results. From all the results, it can be concluded that output-only methods are capable of characterizing the dynamic behavior of a floating structure, even in the context of continuous dynamic monitoring using automated tracking of the modal properties, and should now be tested under uncontrolled environmental loads.

Quando falamos em esporte de alto rendimento, estamos falando diretamente em vencer os limites, e na natação milésimos de segundo, fazem a diferença. Os aspectos técnicos como a saída, o nado e a virada são os principais responsáveis pelo resultado final em provas de 50 e 100 metros e nestas provas, à saída tem papel importante no resultado final podendo corresponder a 10% (50 m) e 5% (100 m) do tempo total de prova. Desta forma esta pesquisa buscou desenvolver um método de análise da fase inicial das provas de natação, a saída de cima do bloco até o início do nado, de forma individual, com o intuito de aprimorar seus tempos finais de prova, otimizando a terceira fase da saída (fase submersa), por meio de uma análise biomecânica das fases que compõem a saída do nado livre. Foram utilizados nove (9) atletas da categoria máster que participam de competições nacionais em provas de 50 metros e 100 metros e que possuam uma carga mínima de cinco (5) treinos por semana. Para a análise do movimento as imagens foram captadas por quatro (4) câmeras sendo três (3) posicionadas perpendicularmente à raia do teste (2 externas e 1 submersa) e uma (1) posicionada posteriormente ao atleta. Todas as imagens foram editadas e analisadas através do software Kinovea 0.8.24. e os dados de velocidade e aceleração obtidos foram analisados e plotados através do software Microsoft Excel®. Após os testes e as análises dos vídeos e dos dados de cada atleta foi possível verificar a eficácia do método para encontrar possíveis erros de execução na técnica de saída e criando possibilidades de correção para técnicos e atletas de provas de velocidade (50 e 100 metros), demonstrando ser um método de baixo custo e de fácil manuseio. When we talk about high performance sport, we're talking directly to overcome the limits, and in swimming, milliseconds make difference. Technical aspects such as start, swimming and turn, are the main responsible for the final result in tests of 50 and 100 meters and in these swim, the output as so important in the final result, may correspond to 10% (50 m) and 5% (100 m) of the total test time. Thus this research has developed a method of analysis of the initial phase of the swimming competitions, the start from the block to the start of the swim, individually, in order to improve their end times swim, optimizing the third stage of the (submerged phase) by means of a biomechanical analysis of the stages that comprise the start of the freestyle. Nine (9) athletes of master category participating in national competitions in 50 meters and 100 meters and have a minimum charge of five (5) workouts per week were used. For the analysis of motion images were captured by four (4) cameras, three (3) positioned perpendicularly to the test ray (2 external and 1 submerged) and one (1) positioned behind the athlete. All images were edited and analyzed by Kinovea 0.8.24 software and the velocity and acceleration data obtained were analyzed and plotted using software Microsoft Excel®. After testing and analysis of video data of each athletes was able to verify the effectiveness of the method for finding possible implementation errors in the start technic and creating correction possibilities for technical and speed events athletes (50 and 100 meters), proving to be a method of low cost and easy to handle. Dissertação (Mestrado)

Este trabalho tem como objetivo a detecção precoce das doenças de Alzheimer e Parkinson através de parâmetros não-lineares multibanda de sinais EEG. Para cada par de grupos de estudo, uma seleção dos parâmetros é realizada através de algoritmo genético. Os parâmetros selecionados são utilizados como entrada para classificadores com validação cruza da leave-one-out. Acurácias de classificação de 100% são obtidas, empelo menos uma sub-banda, para 3 pares de grupos de estudo enquanto 90,60% é alcançado para o par Controle vs Alzhei-mer/Parkinson. A sub-banda delta foi a que, em geral, apresentou maiores diferenças significativas entre os grupos., This work aims to detect Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases at early stage through non-linear multiband para-meters of EEG signals. For each pair of study groups, parameters selection was performed through genetic algorithm. The selected parameters are used as input for classifiers with leave-one-outcross-validation. Classification accuracies of 100% are achieved, in at least one sub band, for 3 pairs of study groups while90.60% is achieved for the Control vs Alzheimer/Parkinson pair. The delta sub band showed, in general, the greatest significant differences between the groups.

The non-linear dynamical behaviour of electrostatically actuated nanobeams of rectangular cross section is investigated using a p-version finite element derived by Galerkin’s method, where the partial differential equations of motion are reduced into a finite dimensional system of non-linear ordinary differential equations in the time domain. Timoshenko’s beam theory is applied, as well as the beam analogue of von Karman’s plate theory in order to take into account the geometrical non-linearity. The formulation considers non-local effects which affect the inertia of the system, the non-linear stiffness terms and the electrostatic force. Considering several harmonics for the periodic solution, the harmonic balance method is used to transform the ordinary differential equations into algebraic equations of motion in the frequency domain, which are then solved by an arc-length continuation method. Convergence studies show that accurate results are achieved with a reasonably low number of degrees of freedom, and the different terms related to the effects considered in the proposed model are validated with results published in the literature. The importance of the shear deformation and the rotary inertia in this problem is investigated, as well as the influence on the dynamic response of the electrostatic force, fringing fields and non-local effects, combined with the geometrical non-linearity. It is found that different combinations of these effects lead to different outcomes in the system dynamics, changing the natural frequencies and, to a smaller extent, the mode shapes, and leading to hardening, softening or even the combination of both. Furthermore, non-linear phenomena such as internal resonances and bifurcations are studied.

International audience; The current requirements for composite cylinders are still based on an arbitrary approach derived from the behaviour of metal structures, that the designed burst pressure should be at least 2.5 times the maximum in-service pressure [1]. This could lead to an over-designed composite cylinder for which the weight saving would be less than optimum. Moreover, predicting the lifetime of composite cylinders is a challenging task due to their anisotropic characteristics. A federal research institute in Germany (BAM) has proposed a minimum load-cycle requirement that mitigates this issue by using a Monte-Carlo analysis of the burst test results [2-3]. To enrich this study, more experiments are required however they are normally limited by the necessity of long duration testing times (loading rate and number of cylinders) and the design (stacking sequence of the composite layer). A multi-scale model incorporating the micromechanical behaviour of composite structures has been developed at Mines ParisTech. The model has shown similar behaviour to that of composite cylinders under different loading rates [4]. This indicates that the model could assist the Monte-Carlo analysis study. An evaluation of the multi-scale model therefore has been carried out to determine its limitations in predicting lifetimes of composite cylinders. The evaluation starts with the comparison of burst pressures with type IV composite cylinders under different loading rates. A μCT-Scan of a type IV cylinder has been carried out at the University of Southampton. The produced images were analysed using the Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) technique to determine the configuration of the composite layers, which is required by the model. Finally, the time dependent effect studied, by using the multi scale model, has been described. In the long-term, this study can be used to conduct a parametric study for creating more efficient design of type IV cylinders.

Tow-based discontinuous composites consist of carbon-fibre tows dispersed in a polymeric matrix, resulting in a complex microstructure with inherent 3D features such as tow waviness, non-uniform tow thickness, and fibre content variations; however, most models for these materials are based on 2D formulations, or in very computationally-expensive FE models. This work proposes a computationally-efficient microstructure generator able to recreate the 3D features of tow-based discontinuous composites, coupled with an analytical stiffness model able to quantify the effect of tow waviness on the modulus of these materials, for the first time in the literature. The features of the microstructures generated are validated against 3D measurements obtained through micro-CT scans and optical micrographs. The results of the stiffness model are successfully validated against experimental results from the literature, showing that tow waviness can trigger a knock-down of over 20% on the stiffness of tow-based discontinuous composites. It is also shown that current testing standards can lead to uncertainties over 20% on the measurement of the Young’s modulus of tow-based discontinuous composites, and alternatives to define suitable experimental campaigns are proposed.

This paper presents a summary of recent progress towards the development and upscaling of an emerging class of electrostatic power take-off (PTO) systems for wave energy converters (WECs), called dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs). DEGs are electromechanical devices able to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy by exploiting the deformation of rubber-like dielectric materials. The high power density (in the order of hundreds of Watts per kilogram), good efficiency and ease of assembling, combined with the low-cost of the employed materials (a few euros per kilogram) and their intrinsic resilient/reliable response to mechanical shocks make DEGs a very promising option for the deployment of a future generation of WECs. In the last decade, some specific concepts of WECs based on DEGs have been devised and a considerable interest in the topic has been aroused in the wave energy community. Among the candidate DEG topologies for wave energy harvesting, recent studies have suggested that a specific layout, namely the axial-symmetric inflating DEG diaphragm, could be a very promising candidate for future upscaling. This paper first describes the operating principle of DEG PTOs and the effect of electro-mechanical material parameters on their energetic performance. With reference to the above-mentioned inflating DEG diaphragm topology, an overview of concepts for integration on WECs is then provided, with a special focus on advanced concepts enabling the achievement of dynamical tuning with the incoming waves. A general lumped-parameter modelling approach for the design of DEG-based WECs is proposed. Experimental activity carried out to date, i.e. dry-run laboratory tests, wave-tank tests and preliminary sea trials is reviewed, with the aim of showing the progression in the device's scale and performance. Finally, economical and technological considerations are outlined, in order to point out challenges, future research opportunities and to draft a roadmap for future research and technological transfer.

Unidirectional composites under cyclic longitudinal tension develop damage through the accumulation and clustering of fibre-breaks, and through fibre-matrix interface debonding growth; these processes lead to a reduction of the material's load-carrying ability with increasing loading cycles, which raises a challenge to predict the fatigue response of composite structures. This paper proposes the first model in the literature to predict the kinetics of fibre-breakage and their effect on the macroscopic response of unidirectional composites under cyclic longitudinal tension. The model couples (i) a statistical hierarchical scaling law to predict fibre failure with (ii) a Paris law to predict interfacial fatigue damage propagating from broken fibres; due to its analytical formulation, the model predicts the response of composite bundles up to virtually any size and for their entire fatigue life in less than one minute. Model predictions for the accumulation and clustering of fibre-breaks show a good correlation with experiments from the literature; the model also predicts that, although the critical cluster size does not vary significantly between static, low-cycle/high-stress fatigue, and high-cycle/low-stress fatigue, the material can withstand the highest amount of softening under high-cycle/low-stress fatigue.

Numerical modelling of wave energy converters (WECs) of the wave activated body type (WAB, see Chap. 2) is based on Newton’s second law, which states that the inertial force is balanced by all forces acting on the WEC’s captor.

The observational data described here was collected between 28 February 2011 and 30 November 2015. The data analysis and interpretation were published in the article “Surface radiation balance and weather conditions on a non-glaciated coastal area in the Antarctic region” [1]. An instrumented tower located on the non-glaciated coastal area of the of the Brazilian Antarctic Comandante Ferraz Station, at King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula was used. It was collected data of air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, incident and reflected shortwave radiation, longwave radiation emitted by atmosphere and by surface, and net radiation with a sampling frequency of 0.1 Hz. The data was stored as 5-min averages and automatically transmitted to the Air-Sea Interaction Laboratory, at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The dataset is hosted in the Mendeley repository. Keywords: Surface radiation balance observational data, Surface wind and temperature observational data, Antarctic peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica

In this study was analyzed the seasonal distribution of the number of days with severe events occurred in Rio Grande do Sul in 2009 (SERS), the regions affected by these SERS, the impact of the SERS which has presented the highest daily frequency, and has reached the greatest number of municipalities. Data of SERS daily occurrence and municipalities affected by these SERS (MASE) from 01/01/2009 to 12/31/2009, obtained from CEDCRS (Coordenadoria Estadual de Defesa Civil do Rio Grande do Sul) database, were used. The results showed that: there were occurrences of SERS in ~26% of the days in 2009; ~61% of the Rio Grande do Sul municipalities were hit by SE in 2009, and the worst-hit region was the Northwestern Rio-Grandense. We also observed that the higher occurrence of SERS and MASE in OND (Oct., Nov., Dec.) was due to seasonal atmospheric conditions characteristics of the region associated to the role of a moderated El Niño. In 2009, the windstorm was the SE that showed the highest daily frequency; reached the highest number of municipalities; generated emergency situation in ~94% of occurrences; reached more than 100 thousand people, and caused agriculture damage in ~ 22% of the municipalities affected. In addition, the quarter and the Rio Grande do Sul region most affected by windstorm in 2009 were OND and Northwest Rio-Grandense, respectively. Neste estudo analisou-se a distribuição sazonal do número de dias com ocorrência de Eventos Severos no Rio Grande do Sul em 2009 (ES), as regiões atingidas por estes ES, o impacto do ES que apresentou maior frequência diária e que atingiu o maior número de municípios. Utilizaram-se dados de ocorrência diária de ES e municípios atingidos por estes (MAES), do período de 01/01/2009 a 31/12/2009, obtidos no banco de dados da CEDCRS (Coordenadoria Estadual de Defesa Civil do Rio Grande do Sul). Os resultados mostraram que: houve ocorrência de ES em ~26% dos dias de 2009; ~61% dos municípios que compõem o Rio Grande do Sul foram atingidos por ES em 2009; e que a região mais atingida foi o Noroeste Rio-grandense. Observou-se ainda que, a maior ocorrência de ES e MAES em OND (Out., Nov., Dez.) deveu-se às condições atmosféricas sazonais características da região associadas à atuação do El Niño moderado. Em 2009, vendaval foi o ES que apresentou maior frequência diária; atingiu maior número de municípios; gerou situação de emergência em ~94% das ocorrências; atingiu mais de 100 mil pessoas e casou danos na agricultura em ~22% dos municípios atingidos. Além disso, o trimestre e a região do Rio Grande do Sul mais afetada por vendaval neste ano foram OND e Noroeste Rio-Grandense, respectivamente.

O procedimento tradicional de controlo da estabilidade microbiológica no vinho consiste na adição de dióxido de enxofre (SO2), que atua como agente antimicrobiano e também antioxidante. A procura de métodos alternativos de controlo microbiológico é importante e necessária, dado que o dióxido de enxofre é um potencial alérgeno e os consumidores procuram cada vez mais produtos saudáveis e livres de conservantes. A radiação ultravioleta tem sido estudada como uma tecnologia inovadora que pode auxiliar na redução do teor de dioxido de enxofre em enologia. O objectivo deste trabalho foi optimizar as condições do processo, face aos resultados já obtidos anteriormente, e avaliar a eficiência na estabilização microbiologica, e a sua influência nos parâmetros fisico-quimicos, na composição fenólica, e nas caracteristicas sensoriais. Assim, o vinho tinto com teor muito baixo em SO2 foi submetido a radiação UV-C com duas doses diferentes, 424J/L e 778J/L, e procedeu-se ainda à preparação de um controlo, a que foi adicionado 30 mg/L de dióxido de enxofre. Os vinhos (UV0, UV1 e UV2) foram analisados ao longo do tempo (de 0 a 4 meses). Os resultados mostram que o tratamento com menor dose é eficaz no controlo microbiológico do produto. A análise sensorial mostrou que o tratamento com radiação UV-C não afectou o aroma e o sabor dos vinhos, inclusivamente estes vinhos foram mais pontuados no descritor intensidade da cor. The traditional procedure for the control of the microbiological stability of wine consists of the addition of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which acts as an antimicrobial agent and also as an antioxidant. The search for alternative methods of microbiological control is important and necessary, since SO2 is a potential allergen and consumers are increasingly looking for healthier and preservative free products. Ultraviolet radiation was tested as an innovative technology that can help reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide used in winemaking. The object of this study was to optimize the process conditions compared to the results obtained previously, and to evaluate the efficiency of microbiological stabilization and its influence on the physico-chemical characteristics, the phenolic composition and sensory profile. Thus, red wine with very low content of sulphur dioxide was subjected to UV-C radiation in two different doses 424J/l e 778J/l, and the preparation of a control wine was carried out to which 30 mg/l sulfur dioxide was added. The wines (control=UV0, UV1 and UV2) were analyzed over time (from 0 to 4 months). The results show that treatment with a lower dosage is effective in the microbiological control of the product. The wines subjected to treatment with UV-C showed an increase in intensity of colour, and the treatment does not affect the flavour and taste of the wine. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In this paper, we present a concept of near/off-shore Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Converter (WEC) that is equipped with a Power Take Off (PTO) unit based on Dielectric Elastomer Generators (DEGs). DEGs are soft/deformable generators with variable capacitance able to directly convert the mechanical energy that is employed for their deformation into electrostatic energy. The proposed WEC is based on an existing tubular collector chamber of an OWC system designed by the company Sendekia, that is combined with an Inflatable Circular Diaphragm (ICD) DEG. This simplified design presents a very reduced number of moving parts showing potentially high efficiency, reliability and noise-free operation. A multi-physics dynamic model of the system is built using time domain linear hydrodynamics coupled with an analytical non-linear electro-hyperelastic model for the DEG-based PTO. The power matrix of the system is calculated for both regular and irregular waves. Some design issues are introduced showing that the electro-elastic response of the DEG provides the system with an additional stiffness that adds up to the hydrostatic stiffness and affects the resonance of the WEC. As a consequence, the geometric shape/dimensions of the OWC chamber and the layout of the DEG diaphragm should be chosen using an integrated procedure aimed at tuning the overall response of the WEC to the spectra a reference wave climate.

When considering the future of offshore wind energy, developing cost effective methods of harnessing the offshore wind resource represents a significant challenge which must be overcome to make offshore wind a viable option. As the majority of the capital investment in offshore wind is in the form of infrastructure and operation and maintenance costs, reducing these expenditures could greatly reduce the cost of energy (COE) for an offshore wind project. Sandia National Laboratory and its partners (TU Delft, University of Maine, Iowa State, and TPI Composites) believe that vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) offer multiple advantages over other rotor configurations considering this new COE breakdown. The unique arrangement of a VAWT allows the heavy generator and related components to be located at the base of the tower as opposed to the top, as is typical of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). This configuration lowers the topside CG which reduces the platform stability requirements, leading to smaller and cheaper platforms. Additionally this locates high maintenance systems close to the ocean surface thus increasing maintainability. To support this project and the general wind research community, the Offshore Wind ENergy Simulation (OWENS) toolkit is being developed in conjunction with Texas A&M as an open source, modular aero-elastic analysis code with the capability to analyze floating VAWTS. The OWENS toolkit aims to establish a robust and flexible finite element framework and VAWT mesh generation utility, coupled with a modular interface that allows users to integrate easily with existing codes, such as aerodynamic and hydrodynamic codes. Current efforts to include a hydrodynamic module are focused on coupling WavEC2Wire with OWENS. WavEC2Wire is a wave-to-wire numerical model developed by Marco Alves at the Insituto Superior Tecnico for the analysis of wave energy converter devices. It has been adapted from its original form and restructured for use as a hydrodynamic module capable of providing OWENS with necessary floating platform dynamics. Hence, WavEC2Wire functions as a rigid-body solver designed to calculate the platform motion due to wave loads, moorings, and the influence of the attached VAWT and tower. This paper presents the WavEC2Wire module and details the OWENS coupling method. Additionally, planned improvements in the WavEC2Wire module as well as future development in OWENS are presented.

A major unanswered question regarding the dispersal of modern humans around the world concerns the geographical site of the first human steps outside of Africa. The "southern coastal route" model predicts that the early stages of the dispersal took place when people crossed the Red Sea to southern Arabia, but genetic evidence has hitherto been tenuous. We have addressed this question by analyzing the three minor west-Eurasian haplogroups, N1, N2, and X. These lineages branch directly from the first non-African founder node, the root of haplogroup N, and coalesce to the time of the first successful movement of modern humans out of Africa, ∼60 thousand years (ka) ago. We sequenced complete mtDNA genomes from 85 Southwest Asian samples carrying these haplogroups and compared them with a database of 300 European examples. The results show that these minor haplogroups have a relict distribution that suggests an ancient ancestry within the Arabian Peninsula, and they most likely spread from the Gulf Oasis region toward the Near East and Europe during the pluvial period 55-24 ka ago. This pattern suggests that Arabia was indeed the first staging post in the spread of modern humans around the world. FCT, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, supported this work through the research project PTDC/CS-ANT/113832/2009 and the personal grants to V.F. (SFRH/BD/61342/2009), N.M.S. (SFRH/BD/69119/2010), J.B.P. (SFRH/BD/45657/2008), M.D.C. (SFRH/BD/48372/2008), and P.S. (SFRH/BPD/64233/2009). We also thank the Leverhulme Trust (research project grant 10 105/D) and the DeLaszlo Foundation for financial support to P.S. The Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education and is partially supported by FCT.

Orientador: Flavio Keidi Miyazawa Dissertação (mestrado profissional) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Computação Resumo: Neste trabalho, investigamos abordagens para problemas de roteamento, que têm como finalidade encontrar um melhor conjunto de rotas para que veículos possam transportar mercadorias a clientes geograficamente dispersos, respeitando certas restrições, como por exemplo, a de capacidade de carga dos veículos. Para isto, além de pesquisas em diversas fontes de informações, desenvolvemos um aplicativo para auxiliar no entendimento dos algoritmos, na ilustração do texto e na realização de experimentos. A partir de observações feitas durante as execuções do aplicativo, experimentamos combinações de critérios de seleção de localidades, utilizando tais combinações durante a realização dos movimentos de intercâmbio de vértices entre rotas de uma conhecida estratégia, a Metaheurística Busca Tabu. Foram combinados critérios baseados em distâncias com critérios baseados em ângulos, para compor algoritmos que foram testados com instâncias clássicas utilizadas por diversos pesquisadores. Os resultados obtidos foram apresentados juntamente com os de outras estratégias, fornecendo valores iguais ao melhor valor conhecido para duas instâncias, e valores intermediários para as outras cinco instâncias utilizadas nos testes In this work, we examine some approaches for vehicle routing problems, to find a best set of routes to enable companies for delivery goods or commodities to customers, respecting some constraints, such as vehicles loading capacity. To this purpose, besides researching available information sources, we have developed a software to help us to understand the algorithms issues, for enriching the text with illustrations, and for effectiving some experiments concerning to previously selected approaches. From the analysis made during running software process, we decided to arrange chosen vertices criterias, using these arrangements in the vertices interchanging movements between routes of an already know method, the Tabu Search Metaheuristic. More precisely, we have combined distances and angles criteria, to implement algorithms on which it were tested using some classical instances considered by several researchers. The obtained results are presented with those selected approaches, and it provided us two equals values to the best known solution, and five intermediate values amoung to the others used on these experiments Mestrado Engenharia de Software Mestre Profissional em Computação

Tendo como objetivo a construção de uma metodologia para a estimação do agregado do Consumo Pessoal para as Contas Nacionais do Brasil, o presente trabalho contém a definição de uma modificação sobre o Estimador de Regressão de Nadaraya-Watson (NWRE), que objetiva o uso de uma rede neural tipo RBF sobre dados provenientes de duas pesquisas dotadas de planos amostrais amplamente diferenciados, quais sejam: POF e PNAD. A partir da aplicação de tal modelo, são obtidos dados e calculados erros estimados, além de outras estatísticas que se mostram úteis na validação das estimativas. It is the objective of this dissertation to produce a methodological framework to the estimation of the Family Comsumption agregate in the brasilian National Accounts. In order to perform this task, a modification in the Nadaraya-Watson Regression Estimator (NWRE) has been developed, intended to allow the use of an RBF neural network in the context of data originated in two surveys which significantly differ in sample design, which are POF and PNAD. From the application of the developed methodology, groups of data are presented, providing results, estimated errors and other statistics useful for the comprehension and validation of the model. El objetivo de este trabajo es establecer una metodologia para la estimación del agregado del Consumo familiar para las Cuentas Nacionales del Brasil. Para ello, se define una modificación sobre el Estimador de Regresión de Nadaraya- Watson (NWRE), que tiene como objetivo el uso de una red neural tipo RBF sobre datos provenientes de dos investigaciones dotadas de planos muestrales ampliamente diferenciados: POF y PNAD. A partir de la aplicación de tal modelo, se obtienen los datos y se calculan los erros estimados, además de otras estadísticas útiles en la evaluación de las estimativas.

Failure of fibre-reinforced composites is affected by fatigue, which increases the challenge in designing safe and reliable composite structures. This paper presents an analytical model to predict the fatigue life of unidirectional composites under longitudinal tension-tension. The matrix and fibre-matrix interface are represented through a cohesive constitutive law, and a Paris law is used to model fatigue due to interfacial cracks propagating from fibre-breaks. The strength of single-fibres is modelled by a Weibull distribution, which is scaled hierarchically though a stochastic failure analysis of composite fibre-bundles, computing stochastic S-N curves of lab-scaled specimens in less than one minute. Model predictions are successfully validated against experiments from the literature. This model can be used to reduce the need for fatigue testing, and also to evaluate the impact of constituent properties on the fatigue life of composites.

Conventional randomly-oriented Tow Based Discontinues Composites (TBDCs) are materials which combine good mechanical properties, lightweight and high manufacturability, and are therefore interesting for high-volume transport industries. This paper proposes, designs and successfully demonstrates a pathway to produce TBDCs with outstanding stiffness and tensile strength, by using ultra-thin tapes of (ultra-) high modulus carbon-fibres. Numerical models are used to explore the design space of discontinuous composite materials, in order to identify the optimal microstructural design to maximise stiffness and strength. Selected microstructures are manufactured and tested under tension; the experimental results show good agreement with the numerical predictions, and demonstrate a significant increase in the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of TBDCs by reducing the tow thickness and increasing the modulus of the fibres. Strength and stiffness increases of over 100% compared with the commercially available TBDC systems are achieved, resulting in mechanical properties that match the strength and overcome the stiffness of aerospace-graded continuous-fibre laminates.