3D Point Clouds in Urban Planning: Developing and Releasing High-end Methodologies based on LiDAR and UAV Data for the Extraction of Building Parameters

Os dados geográficos têm um papel determinante na formalização do plano urbano, enquanto instrumento de planeamento e documento normativo que define juridicamente as obrigações públicas e vincula os particulares, num determinado período temporal, no que respeita a disciplina urbanística de uma cidade ou de um aglomerado urbano, estabelecendo regras de uso e de ocupação do solo. O plano está associado a um processo, designado processo de planeamento; processo esse que e constituído por um conjunto de fases, dinâmicas e adaptativas, que se iniciam na sua elaboração e terminam na avaliação dos desvios entre o determinado no documento inicial e as metas e objectivos efectivamente atingidos. O plano, o processo e a praxis do planeamento exigem dados geográficos actualizados a cada instante, quer para as acções de monitorização quer para os momentos de avaliação. Um dos aspectos cruciais do plano e a quantificação da volumetria do espaço edificado existente. Outro aspecto, também fundamental, é o da gestão dessa volumetria; quer da volumetria existente quer da volumetria adicional. O tema da volumetria dos espaços edificados tem constituído, aliás, um dos temas mais sensíveis quando se trata da densificação do espaço urbano existente ou do desenho de novos espaços urbanos de expansão. Considerando o quadro teórico apresentado, o tema central da tese trata da modelação de nuvens de pontos 3D obtidas por tecnologia LiDAR e por UAV, para as aplicações na elaboração do plano e no processo de planeamento urbano, designadamente quantificação dos parâmetros urbanísticos altura da fachada e volume dos edifícios.A exploração do tema central da tese suporta-se em dois níveis: o nível da operacionalização e o nível da usabilidade. O nível da operacionalizão concretiza dois objectivos: i) demonstração da relevância e da pertinência da extracção, medição e geovisualização 3D dos parâmetros urbanísticos baseadas na experimentação e implementação de técnicas de geoprocessamento; ii) demonstração da pertinência dos parâmetros urbanísticos extraídos considerando distintas morfologias urbanas. Para o nível da usabilidade de nem-se igualmente dois objectivos: i) demonstração da usabilidade dos parâmetros urbanísticos extraídos avaliando o erro associado a extracção; ii) demonstração da usabilidade dos parâmetros urbanísticos extraídos para planeamento, em particular para o mapeamento dasimétrico de alta precisão. Da investigação decorre uma solução metodol ogica. A solução metodológica nomeada 3D Extraction Building Parameters (3DEBP) destina-se a extracção da área, da altura da fachada e do volume dos edifícios a partir de nuvens de pontos 3D. Esta solução foi criada tendo por base um conjunto de ferramentas FOSS: PostgreSQL/PostGIS, QGIS, GRASS e R-stats. Foram realizados testes em duas áreas urbanas com morfologias distintas: Praia de Faro (morfologia irregular) e Amadora (morfologia regular). O teste sobre a área urbana da Praia de Faro utilizou uma nuvem de pontos LiDAR e uma outra extra da de levantamento realizado por UAV. O teste sobre um quarteirão urbano de Amadora foi realizado apenas sobre nuvem de pontos UAV. Os testes revelaram que a qualidade da informação extra da e dependente da morfologia urbana. Nas conclusões discute-se a medição 3D com base em dados obtidos por tecnologia LiDAR e UAV, questiona-se a implementação de soluções FOSS para diferentes fases do processo de planeamento e defende-se a introdução intensiva da modelação 3D no plano urbano do futuro.Geographical data plays a major role in urban plan development, both as a planning instrument and as a normative document that legally de nes public obligations and binds individuals, in a given period of time, regarding the urban aspect of a city or an urban conglomerate, and establishes standards for land use and land cover. The plan is associated with a process, called the planning process, which consists in a set of dynamic and adaptive phases that begin with its development and end with the evaluation of any discrepancies between the provisions of the original document and the accomplished goals and objectives. The plan, the process, and the planning praxis require up-to-date geographical data at all times, both for monitoring actions and for the evaluation phases. One of the crucial aspects of the plan is the quanti cation of the existing building volume. Another fundamental aspect is managing that volume: both regarding the existing volume and any additional volumes. Actually, the building volume in built areas has been one of the most sensitive topics on the densi cation of existing urban spaces or the design of new growing urban areas. Considering the existing theoretical framework, the central topic of this thesis focuses on 3D point cloud modelling obtained from LiDAR and UAV technologies, employed in the development of a plan and in the urban planning process, namely regarding two speci c building parameters { building height and volume. The explanation of the central topic of this thesis is twofold: implementation and usability. The implementation level has two goals: i) demonstrating the relevance and pertinence of the extraction, measurement, and 3D geovisualization of building parameters based on the experimentation and implementation of geoprocessing techniques; ii) demonstrating the pertinence of the extracted building parameters considering di erent urban morphologies. At the usability level, we de ned two goals: i) demonstrating the usability of the extracted building parameters, evaluating the error associated with the extraction; ii) demonstrating the usability of these parameters for planning, particularly for high precision dasymetric mapping. Based on our research, we propose a methodological solution termed. 3D Extraction Building Parameters (3DEBP) and aimed at extracting areas, fa cade height, and building volumes from 3D point clouds. This solution was created with the following set of FOSS tools: PostgreSQL/PostGIS, GRASS, QGIS, and R-stats. We performed several tests in two urban areas with di erent morphologies: Praia de Faro (irregular morphology) and Amadora (regular morphology). The former (Praia de Faro) used a LiDAR point cloud and another one extracted from a UAV survey, while the latter (urban neighbourhood of Amadora) only used a UAV point cloud. Both experiments reveal that the quality of the information extracted depends on urban morphology. Finally, we discuss 3D measurement based on data obtained from LiDAR and UAV technology, raising questions on the implementation of FOSS solutions for di erent phases of the planning process, and arguing for the intensive introduction of 3D modelling for the future of urban planning

Different approaches to the development and use of carbon materials for water treatment purposes

Tese de doutoramento, Química (Química Tecnológica), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2018The work presented in this thesis consisted in the preparation of porous materials and in their application in adsorption processes of organic compounds in aqueous phase, and bacteria adhesion. After the theoretical introduction (Chapters II to VI), the results presented in Chapter VII correspond to the study centred in the preparation of activated carbons from an apple tree branches char by chemical activation with potassium carbonate and hydroxide, under different experimental conditions. The employed methodology allowed to obtain materials with a high global preparation yield and to reduce the volatile content of the precursor. The activated carbons synthesized with potassium carbonate and hydroxide present a highly developed porosity, with high micropore volumes and specific surface areas (values up to 1920 cm3 g-1 and 2445 cm3 g-1, respectively). The impact of activation on the morphology of the carbons was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and it was observed that the more severe activation with KOH led to a higher consumption of the carbonaceous matrix and an homogenization of the particle size, in comparison to the activation with carbonate. The performance of the materials in the adsorption of the pharmaceutical compounds atenolol and tiamulin hydrogen fumarate was comparable and better than that of the commercial samples tested. The carbons with higher adsorption capacity were the KOH activated samples, which allowed for the removal of 556 mg g-1 of atenolol and of approximately 250 mg g-1 of tiamulin, in equilibrium conditions. The supermicropores volume was important for atenolol adsorption and some impact of the carbons’s surface chemistry on the process was observed. The adsorption of the antibiotic tiamulin also occurred on the supermicropores of the solids and the mesopore volume of carbon NS facilitated its diffusion. In Chapter VIII the performance of activated carbons with different morphologies in the adsorption of two organic pollutants was assessed, and the role of morphology in thermal treatment regeneration processes was evaluated. The activated carbon cloth was characterized in terms of texture, morphology and surface chemistry, together with commercial samples in the granular and powdered forms. The carbon felt presents an open structure composed by fibres of high diameter. The porosity of this solid revealed to be mostly composed by supermicropores easily accessible at the surface of the material fibres. The carbons were tested in liquid phase adsorption experiments for the removal of paracetamol and clofibric acid. The diffusion of these species was facilitated in the cloth because the micropores are at the matrix surface, and in carbon NS due to the high mesopore volume. Both pollutants were efficiently adsorbed by the solids up to maximum adsorbed quantities of 323 mg g-1 and 568 mg g-1 of paracetamol and clofibric acid, respectively. Regeneration by thermal treatment was studied in cyclic saturation-regeneration assays. The more moderate conditions of regeneration (heating at 400 ºC during 1 h) were more efficient in recovering the porosity of the samples. The regeneration treatment was more efficient in the case of the cloth and granular carbon that retained some porosity and approximately 50 % of the initial adsorption capacity up to the third reuse.In regards to the study of bacteria adhesion of Escherichia coli cells in activated carbons, the results in Chapter IX reveal that the powdered carbon had a clear better performance removing up to 4log of cells per cm3 of suspension after 48 h of contact time. The adhesion mechanism in this solid seems to occur in two stages: an initial adhesion favoured by attractive electrostatic interactions, and immobilization of bacteria cells due to the formation of carbon-cell-cell carbon agglomerates. No adhesion of microorganisms occurred on the oxidized sample, suggesting that the establishment of initial repulsive interactions was sufficient to avoid colonization of the sample. The formation of cell + carbon structures was more difficult when the carbon particles were saturated with caffeine. At last, in the study reported in Chapter X, tannin polymers obtained from Mimosa tree bark were characterized, and the potential of the materials as adsorbents of several organic compounds in aqueous phase was evaluated. The use of higher surfactant amounts promoted the formation of wider mesopores and lower phenolic content. One of the samples was washed with a hydrochloric acid solution, and the treatment caused a slight widening of the mesopores with some porous volume loss, and without loss in phenolic content. A detailed study of methylene blue adsorption in aqueous phase was performed, and then the materials were tested for the removal of a set of pharmaceutical compounds and a plasticizer, highly consumed worldwide. The two tested samples showed adsorbent properties removing up to a maximum amount of 152 mg g-1 of pollutant, in equilibrium conditions. The good performance of the polymers was attributed at a great extent to the aromatic character of the materials. The molecular species with smaller molar volume, and with lower width were adsorbed in higher amounts suggesting a packing of the species in the polymers mesopores

Uber, a path for profitability or a market misperception?

The present equity research report serves the purpose of executing a valuation of Uber Technologies, Inc, an American multinational company that provides peer-to-peer ridesharing, food delivery, freight services, and bicycle and scooter sharing systems in more than 700 cities in 63 countries. The valuation performed has in mind the optimistic factors about the company’s future(scale, dominance, profitability, and a favorable environment to revenue growth) but also the risks it may have to face (ATG as a risky segment, regulatory restrictions, and ease of raising debt).The price target achieved through a DCF valuation is $38.47, 29% above the market price as of 31stDecember 2019, leading to a buy recommendation

Appropriation of nature in Portuguese America and early notions of overexploitation and human impact

UIDB/04666/2020 UIDP/04666/2020publishersversionpublishe

Shaping Landscapes: Thinking On the Interactions between People and Nature in Inter- and Postdisciplinary Narratives

This article addresses broad and plural concepts of landscape, considering its diversity of meanings and uses, which go far beyond its environmental and geographical connotations. It discusses the relationship between humanity and the rest of the natural world as a global process that combines physical and cultural aspects, and it seeks to highlight the contribution of environ mental humanities to the understanding of these. Given the multiple conceptual interpretations and meanings of landscapes, we argue that current research trends are good examples of what we can consider as postdisciplinary approaches, challenging both disciplinary and interdisciplinary models of analysis. In this context, we use the recent pandemic scenarios as an exampleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tectonic control and mass-wasting processes along S. Vicente Canyon (SW Iberia) : evidences from multibeam bathymetry and seismic reflection data

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2009 (EGU 2009), Vienna, Austria, April 19-24, 200

Behavioral Sciences in the Optimization of Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the main chronic diseases worldwide, with a significant impact on public health. Behavioral changes are an important step in disease prevention and management, so the way in which individuals adapt their lifestyle to new circumstances will undoubtedly be a predictor of the success of the treatments instituted, contributing to a reduction in the morbidity and mortality that may be associated with them. It is essential to prepare and educate all diabetic patients on the importance of changing behavioral patterns in relation to the disease, with health professionals assuming an extremely important role in this area, both from a pharmacological and non-pharmacological point of view, and also ensuring the monitoring of the progress of these measures. Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires a high self-management capacity on the part of patients in order to achieve success in treating the disease, and non-adherence to therapy or non-compliance with the previously defined plan, together with an erratic lifestyle, will contribute to failure in controlling the disease. The lower adherence to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment in diabetes is mainly correlated to socio-economic aspects, lower health literacy, the side effects associated with the use of antidiabetic therapy or even the concomitant use of several drugs. This article consists of a narrative review that aims to synthesize the findings published in the literature, retrieved by searching databases, manuals, previously published scientific articles and official texts, following the methodology of the Scale for Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA). We aim to address the importance of behavioral sciences in the treatment of diabetes, in order to assess behavior factors and barriers for behavior changes that have an impact on the therapeutic and non-therapeutic optimization in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus control