Long-Lived Oscillons from Asymmetric Bubbles: Existence and Stability

The possibility that extremely long-lived, time-dependent, and localized field configurations (“oscillons”) arise during the collapse of asymmetrical bubbles in (2+1)-dimensional φ4 models is investigated. It is found that oscillons can develop from a large spectrum of elliptically deformed bubbles. Moreover, we provide numerical evidence that such oscillons are (a) circularly symmetric and (b) linearly stable against small arbitrary radial and angular perturbations. The latter is based on a dynamical approach designed to investigate the stability of nonintegrable time-dependent configurations that is capable of probing slowly growing instabilities not seen through the usual “spectral” method

Analysis of a bakery production system using discrete simulation

The main objective of this study is to analyse different production scenarios of a company, and propose improvements with the use of discrete event simulation. We use a simulation tool, SIMIO software, to reproduce the existing production layout of the company. Our purpose is to gather relevant information about the actual production system behaviour, and to find strategies to increase the production level to meet the market demand. Based on initial simulation model, some production scenarios were developed involving the production of different products. The analysis of the developed models highlighted the need for improvements. Among the obtained results, the creation of different mixed production scenarios allowed to increase the production level while maintaining the current existing resources. The results of this work can be easily implemented in the company in order to increase the production level without increasing costs since they do not involve the purchase of new equipment. In conclusion, this study highlighted the ability of the simulation technique to analyse manufacturing processes throughout the creation of different scenarios providing insights on the production process improving the companies’ productive performanceinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Seller-buyer supply chain: a game theory framework

We present a game theoretical framework to study competition and collaboration scenarios in seller-buyer supply chains, representing a manufacturer that wholesales a product to a retailer who, in turn, retails to the final consumer. We study cooperative and non-cooperative scenarios, by considering in the first case a Stackelberg game under both the situations where one of the players, either the buyer or the seller, plays the leading role by taking the initiative and forcing the strategy of the other player, the follower. In the cooperative game, we analyse scenarios where the pro t of both players are increased when applying joint cooperative strategies. We also compute the Nash equilibria. This is undergoing work.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Water buffalo production in the Brazilian Amazon Basin: a review

The Brazilian Amazon has witnessed, in the last decades, an increase in the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) inventory, with interesting productivity results. As the Brazilian Amazon contains the main water buffalo population in the Americas, the aim of this work is to review its most relevant production systems and some peculiarities about meat and milk production in this territory. The opening section describes the Amazon Basin, the most common water buffalo breeds, a brief history of the local livestock farming beginning in 1644. Also, it presents how water buffaloes gradually replaced bovine herds, especially where the latter had a lower productive performance. The use of extensive or more intensified models is pointed out and the ecosystems in which buffaloes are raised are detailed since native or cultivated pastures can be used in floodplains or drylands. Buffalo raising is favored in the Amazon due to the climate, soil, genetic variability of forages, animal adaptability, and physical space. Thus, it is clear that buffaloes have a high potential for meat and milk production and are an alternative in the use of altered areas of the Amazon; and, in the recent past, the low profitability of buffalo farming in traditional production systems in the Amazon was the reason which made this activity economically unattractive. Most recent technologies as outdoor confinements and silvopastoral systems are pointed out as more suitable regarding land-use policies, and buffalo farming for meat and milk production fits perfectly in this context, with productivity and beneficial socioeconomicinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Iron Metabolism and the Inflammatory Response

Funding: This work was partially supported by iNOVA4Health-UID Multi/04462—a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Educação e Ciência, through national funds and co-funded by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership—and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, which financial support grants fellowships to A.M. (SFRH/ BD/104599/2014), I.M. (SFRH/BD/114552/2016), A.K., J.A., and R.G. (IF/01495/2015).Iron (Fe) is essential to almost all organisms, as required by cells to satisfy metabolic needs and accomplish specialized functions. Its ability to exchange electrons between different substrates, however, renders it potentially toxic. Fine tune-mechanisms are necessary to maintain Fe homeostasis and, as such, to prevent its participation into the Fenton reaction and generation of oxidative stress. These are particularly important in the context of inflammation/infection, where restricting Fe availability to invading pathogens is one, if not, the main host defense strategy against microbial growth. The ability of Fe to modulate several aspects of the immune response is associated with a number of “costs” and “benefits”, some of which have been described in this review. © 2017 IUBMB Life, 69(6):442–450, 2017. © 2017 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biologypublishersversionpublishe

Analysis and optimisation of a production line using discrete simulation

This study presents a simulation-based procedure to analyse a production line of a metalworking company. We use a simulation tool, ProModel R software, to reproduce the existing production line layout of the company best-selling product which represents about 70% of the total sales. Our purpose is to get information about the existing system behaviour, and to find strategies to increase actual production level to meet the market’s demand. Based on an initial simulation model, different production scenarios were proposed and results have shown that it is possible to increase the production level allowing to meet the increasing demand for the product. The following changes in the production system were considered: (i) the use of intermediate stock of work-in-process items, (ii) the introduction of new equipment, and (iii) a mixed strategy where the introduction of new equipment is combined with the use of intermediate stock of work-in-process items. In summary, this research exhibits the flexibility of the simulation technique to address manufacturing problems throughout the creation of different scenarios providing some of the behaviour of the systems allowing the anticipation of final outputs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chronic Q fever with no elevation of inflammatory markers: a case report

Chronic q Fever with no elevation of inflammatory markers: a case report. Boattini M, Almeida A, Moura RB, Abreu J, Santos AS, Toscano Rico M. SourceDepartment of Internal Medicine, St. Marta's Hospital, 1169-024 Lisbon, Portugal. Abstract We describe the case of a 55-year-old man with a biological prosthetic aortic valve who suffered from epigastrium and right hypochondrium pain associated with intermittent night sweats. Liver biopsy showed infectious hepatitis pattern without pathognomonic features. Coxiella burnetii serology was suggestive of chronic Q fever, and modified Duke's criteria for endocarditis were also fulfilled. The authors present a brief literature review concerning chronic Q fever, emphasizing absent previous reports of chronic Q fever with hepatitis and endocarditis and no increase in inflammatory markers