Optimal Location of Electronic Toll Gantries: The Case of a Portuguese Freeway

AbstractThis paper presents a decision supporting tool for the location of electronic toll gantries in freeways, regarding the maximization of the toll revenue. The adopted case study consists in one of the most important Portuguese freeways, with 180km of extension and a recently introduced electronic toll collection system. In the first stage of the modeling procedure, we applied a categorical binary model to set drivers’ route choice between the tolled freeway segments and the fastest non-tolled alternative paths, based on traffic data collected before and after the introduction of the toll fees. Then, we developed an optimization model to assign a limited or unlimited number of toll gantries to the freeway segments considering the generalized costs of the trips performed using the freeway and the alternative routes. The results showed that charging for all of the freeway segments may not be the best solution to increase road pricing revenue

Mitochondrial portraits of the Madeira and Açores archipelagos witness different genetic pools of its settlers

We have studied the matrilineal genetic composition of the Madeira and Açores north Atlantic archipelagos, which were settled by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Both archipelagos, and particularly Madeira, were involved in a complex commercial network established by the Portuguese, which included the trading of slaves across the Atlantic. One hundred and fifty-five mtDNAs sampled from the Madeira and 179 from the Açores archipelagos were analysed for the hypervariable segment I (HVS-I), and for haplogroup-diagnostic coding-region RFLPs. The different settlement histories of both groups of islands are well reflected in their present day mtDNA pool. Although both archipelagos show identical diversity values, they are clearly different in their haplogroup content. Madeira displays a stronger sub-Saharan imprint, with haplogroups L1-L3 constituting about 13% of the lineages. Also, the relative frequencies of L sub-clusters in Madeira and mainland Portugal suggests that, at least in part, African presence in Madeira can be attributed to a direct gene flow from West Africa and not via Portugal. A comparison of the genetic composition of these two archipelagos with the Canary Islands, specially taking into account that their European source population was essentially from the Iberian Peninsula, testifies the stronger impact of the North African U6 cluster in the Canaries. This group is present in Madeira at a moderate frequency, but very reduced in the Açores. Nevertheless the recorded introduction of Canary native Guanches, who are characterized by the presence of particular sub-clade U6b1, has left no detectable imprints in the present day population of Madeira.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An agent-based simulator to estimate domestic energy use

Throughout recent years, there has been an increase in the population size, as well as a fast economic growth, which has led to an increase of the energy demand that comes mainly from fossil fuels. In order to reduce the ecological footprint, governments have implemented sustainable measures and it is expected that by 2035 the energy produced from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar would be responsible for one-third of the energy produced globally. However, since the energy produced from renewable sources is governed by the availability of the respective primary energy source there is often a mismatch between production and demand, which could be solved by adding flexibility on the demand side through demand response (DR). DR programs influence the end-user electricity usage by changing its cost along the time. Under this scenario the user needs to estimate the energy demand and on-site production in advance to plan its energy demand according to the energy price. This work focuses on the development of an agent-based electrical simulator, capable of: (a) estimating the energy demand and on-site generation with a 1-min time resolution for a 24-h period, (b) calculating the energy price for a given scenario, (c) making suggestions on how to maximize the usage of renewable energy produced on-site and to lower the electricity costs by rescheduling the use of certain appliances. The results show that this simulator allows reducing the energy bill by 11% and almost doubling the use of renewable energy produced on-site

Mitochondrial DNA in human identification: a review

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) presents several characteristics useful for forensic studies, especially related to the lack of recombination, to a high copy number, and to matrilineal inheritance. mtDNA typing based on sequences of the control region or full genomic sequences analysis is used to analyze a variety of forensic samples such as old bones, teeth and hair, as well as other biological samples where the DNA content is low. Evaluation and reporting of the results requires careful consideration of biological issues as well as other issues such as nomenclature and reference population databases. In this work we review mitochondrial DNA profiling methods used for human identification and present their use in the main cases of humanidentification focusing on the most relevant issues for forensics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gestor escolar inovador: educação da contemporaneidade

Este artigo tem como problemática de análise a questão da gestão escolar, a situação atual e a perspectiva de inovação da gestão da escola básica brasileira. Tem como objetivo fazer uma reflexão em torno do perfil do atual gestor educacional, destacando o sexo, a idade, a formação, o trabalho e a remuneração por sua atuação e desempenho junto às milhares de escolas espalhadas por todo o território nacional. Em seguida, fazemos uma análise dos enfoques da administração, da gestão e da inovação dos processos gestores, definindo o papel do gestor em cada desses enfoques. Utilizamos a abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, tendo o levantamento bibliográfico como parte instrumental do estudo. Isto porque a pesquisa bibliográfica tem como vantagem a permissão ao investigador de ter uma maior cobertura dos dados e das informações em questão, criando as facilidades para a comparação. Concluímos o trabalho reflexivo apontando as condições necessárias para que seja efetivado um perfil educacional do gestor inovador, aquele profissional que deve atuar na escola e garantir uma nova organização do ambiente pedagógico, das relações humanas, da efetivação de uma educação de qualidade, sendo bem remunerado e capacitado para o exercício de seu trabalho cotidiano. Palavras-chave: gestão escolar; inovação gestora; admnistraçã

Genética forense

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio