Design of a Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process – case study

Nowadays, companies are facing a constant need to develop and increase coordination between operational functions to respond rapidly and accurately to customer requests. Linked with this need, an increasing number of practitioners are resorting to an established and integrated business management methodology, the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). The concept of S&OP has gained increased recognition over the years by several authors and companies. This project describes the S&OP implementation in Sogrape Vinhos (wines) S.A., a Portuguese wine producer and distributer. The company was confronted with low accuracy in the establishing the forecast demand plans, especially on a long-term horizon. In order to increase the demand plans accuracy, the company started a S&OP implementation program. This paper describes the company’s current planning process, explains the S&OP’s implementation model presenting the selected parameters adequate to the company’s context, and finally, evaluate the expected outcomes of this project. Preliminary results from the S&OP implementation project at Sogrape indicate significant savings at the operational level and greater effectiveness in developing the company’s demand plans.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise e detecção de anomalias em dispositivos móveis

Dissertação de Mestrado em Engenharia Informática apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaAs organizações são frequentemente encaradas com a necessidade de gerir um elevado número de dispositivos móveis, incluindo um controlo apertado de aspetos como perfis de utilização, customização, aplicações e segurança. Inclusivamente, o crescimento do paradigma "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) tem contribuído para o aglomerar destes requisitos, tornando difícil a tarefa de equilibrar regulamentos empresariais e liberdade de utilização.Neste contexto, segurança é um dos principais requisitos para uso individual e empresarial. A proteção de dispositivos e de informação em ecossistemas móveis é bastante diferente quando comparada a outros dispositivos como computadores portáteis e fixos, devido a características e restrições específicas. Por exemplo, o custo do consumo de recursos por parte dos mecanismos de segurança, que é de menor relevância em ambientes de computadores fixos ou portáteis, é crítico para dispositivos móveis que frequentemente têm menos poder de processamento e necessitam de manter o seu consumo energético o menos elevado possível.Mecanismos de segurança para dispositivos móveis combinam ferramentas de prevenção (e.g. ambientes de execução confiáveis e aplicações em modo Sandbox), soluções de monitorização e técnicas de reação e mitigação. Nesta tese começamos com uma visão geral destas soluções de segurança, apresentando os resultados da nossa pesquisa sobre estas tecnologias, frameworks e cenários de utilização para gestão e monitorização de segurança para dispositivos móveis, com ênfase nos benefícios e nos desafios ainda em aberto, tanto do ponto de vista do utilizador final como do empresarial.Tendo analisado o estado da arte tecnológico, demonstramos a nossa tentativa de analisar e detetar anomalias em dispositivos móveis num cenário empresarial, os problemas e respetivas soluções de implementação contempladas, bem como os detalhes de desenvolvimento para os alcançar. O sistema descrito é composto por: uma aplicação Android, com o intuito de ser instalada nos dispositivos utilizados; Corretores de Mensagens com perfil leve; um Agregador Central, servindo como o cerne do sistema, processando e gerindo os dados recolhidos pelos dispositivos móveis; um Painel de Controlo para Monitorização, permitindo que o sistema seja alterado enquanto funciona por supervisores humanos.Por fim, avaliamos o projeto, exibindo os resultados preliminares obtidos ao longo do desenvolvimento do sistema, examinando as implicações que os resultados fomentam, avaliando o atual estado das tarefas e requisitos propostos para o projeto, e propondo um rumo para trabalho futuro.Organizations are often faced with the need to manage large numbers of mobile device assets, including tight control over aspects such as usage profiles, customization, applications and security. Moreover, the rise of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) paradigm has further contributed to hamper these requirements, making it difficult to strike a balance between corporate regulations and freedom of usage.In this scope, security is one of the main requirements both for individual and corporate usage. Device and information protection on mobile ecosystems is quite different from securing other assets such as laptops or desktops, due to specific characteristics and restrictions. For instance, the resource consumption overhead of security mechanisms, which is less relevant for desktop/laptop environments, is critical for mobile devices which frequently have less computing power and must keep power consumption as low as possible.Security mechanisms for mobile devices combine preventive tools (e.g. Trusted Execution Environments and sandboxed applications), monitoring solutions and reactive and mitigation techniques. In this thesis we start by overviewing these security solutions, presenting a survey on the technologies, frameworks and use cases for mobile device security monitoring and management, with an emphasis on the associated open challenges and benefits, from both the end-user and the corporate points-of-view.Having analyzed the technological state of the art, we showcase our attempt at analyzing and detecting anomalies in mobile devices on an enterprise scenario, the contemplated and solved implementation ordeals, and the employed development details to achieve it. The described system is comprised of: an Android application, intended to be installed on the target devices; lightweight Message Brokers; a Central Aggregator, serving as the core of the system, processing and managing the collected data from the mobile assets; a Monitoring Dashboard, enabling the system to be altered at runtime by supervising humans.Lastly, we evaluate the project, exhibiting the preliminary results obtained through the developed system, examining the implications that the results warrant, assessing the current state of the project's proposed tasks and requirements, and proposing the course of action for future work.Universidade de Coimbra - Bolsa de Investigação: (745€ * 6 meses) + (745€ * 3 meses) = 6.705

Interaction of Antiinflammatory Drugs with EPC Liposomes: Calorimetric Study in a Broad Concentration Range

Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to characterize and quantify the partition of indomethacin and acemetacin between the bulk aqueous phase and the membrane of egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Significant electrostatic effects were observed due to binding of the charged drugs to the membrane, which implied the use of the Gouy-Chapman theory to calculate the interfacial concentrations. The binding/partition phenomenon was quantified in terms of the partition coefficient (K(p)), and/or the equilibrium constant (K(b)). Mathematical expressions were developed, either to encompass the electrostatic effects in the partition model, or to numerically relate partition coefficients and binding constants. Calorimetric titrations conducted under a lipid/drug ratio >100:1 lead to a constant heat release and were used to directly calculate the enthalpy of the process, ΔH, and indirectly, ΔG and ΔS. As the lipid/drug ratio decreased, the constancy of reaction enthalpy was tested in the fitting process. Under low lipid/drug ratio conditions simple partition was no longer valid and the interaction phenomenon was interpreted in terms of binding isotherms. A mathematical expression was deduced for quantification of the binding constants and the number of lipid molecules associated with one drug molecule. The broad range of concentrations used stressed the biphasic nature of the interaction under study. As the lipid/drug ratio was varied, the results showed that the interaction of both drugs does not present a unique behavior in all studied regimes: the extent of the interaction, as well as the binding stoichiometry, is affected by the lipid/drug ratio. The change in these parameters reflects the biphasic behavior of the interaction—possibly the consequence of a modification of the membrane's physical properties as it becomes saturated with the drug

Late‐onset Levodopa Responsive Parkinsonism Due to Polymerase γ 1 Mutations

Introduction: Polymerase γI (POLG) gene mutations may induce mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) instability leading to its depletion or multiple deletions1 and causing a wide spectrum of multisystemic disorders. Commonly described phenotypes include AlpersHuttenlocher syndrome, childhood myocerebrohepatopathy, myoclonic epilepsy myopathy and sensory ataxia, mitochondrial recessive ataxia syndrome, sensory ataxia neuropathy with dysarthria, and ophthalmoplegia and progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO).1 Levodopa-responsive parkinsonism has been described as a late feature in patients with PEO.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cytokine gene polymorphisms in Pigeon Breeder's Disease expression

Background: Exaggerated immunological response to repeated inhalation of organic or chemical dusts may lead to Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis among sensitized individuals. Only a few exposed individuals became ill and disease expression pattern is highly variable which suggest that genetic factors may play a role. Aim: To investigate interferon (IFN)-γ, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß, and IL-10 gene polymorphisms in a cohort of pigeon breeder's disease (PBD) patients in comparison with exposed but healthy controls and the association with different patterns of disease. Methods: We evaluated 40 PBD patients and 70 exposed controls. IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, TGF-ß, and IL-10 polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer amplification. Results: Polymorphism analysis of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, TGF-ß, and IL-10 genotypes and allele frequencies showed no differences between patients and controls. IFN-γ T/T genotype frequency was increased among patients with chronic presentation (RR=2.33, p=0.047) compared with those with acute/subacute presentation. Also, chronic presenting patients had an increased frequency of IFN-γ T allele (50% vs 22.5%, RR=1.76, p=0.011). No differences were found in TNF-α, IL-6, TGF-ß, and IL-10 genotypes neither allelic frequencies between both groups of patients. IL-6 C/C genotype was more frequent in patients who showed chronic evolution (RR=2.54, p=0.017), when comparing with patients with disease resolution. Conclusion: IFN-γ T/T and the IL-6 C/C genotypes seem to play a role in HP expression due to avian exposure, as their frequencies are increased in chronic presentations or in those with chronic evolution one year after the initial diagnosis, respectively. (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2020; 37 (3): e2020004).N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020 - Northern Regional Operational Program” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012) and the Horizon 2020 Program (PTDC/PSI‐GER/28076/2017).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Abnormal Olfaction in Parkinson’s Disease Is Related to Faster Disease Progression

Introduction. A possible association between olfactory dysfunction and Parkinson’s disease (PD) severity has been a topic of contention for the past 40 years. Conflicting reports may be partially explained by procedural differences in olfactory assessment and motor symptom evaluation. Methods. One hundred and sixty-six nondemented PD patients performed the Brief-Smell Identification Test and test scores below the estimated 20th percentile as a function of sex, age, and education (i.e., 80% specificity) were considered demographically abnormal. Patients underwent motor examination after 12 h without antiparkinsonian medication. Results. Eighty-two percent of PD patients had abnormal olfaction. Abnormal performance on the Brief-Smell Identification Test was associated with higher disease severity (i.e., Hoehn and Yahr, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III, Freezing of Gait questionnaire, and levodopa equivalent dose), even when disease duration was taken into account. Conclusions. Abnormal olfaction in PD is associated with increased severity and faster disease progression

Mortality risk prediction with ILD-GAP index in a fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis cohort

Background: Fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (fHP) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Interstitial lung disease–gender-age-physiology (ILD-GAP) performance in fHP outside the initial cohort was never performed. Aim: To assess the ILD-GAP index’s ability to predict mortality in a Portuguese cohort of patients with fHP and analyse whether other clinical variables add value. Methods: Retrospective analysis of fHP cohort in two Portuguese ILD centres. The baseline ILD-GAP index was calculated. Survival was analysed in months; mortality was the primary outcome. Univariate and multivariate analyses to identify mortality risk factors were performed. Results: A total of 141 patients were included. Fifty-three patients (37.6%) died during the follow-up. The usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern was found in 49.6%, and their survival was inferior to non-UIP [32 months (interquartile range, IQR = 19, 60) versus 52 months (IQR = 28, 98), p  = 0.048]. Patients with an ILD-GAP index higher than three double their risk of mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 6.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = (3.03–13.96)] when compared with the patients with an index between 2 and 3 [HR = 3.04, 95% CI = (1.62–5.71)] adjusting for acute exacerbation history. Even though UIP patients had worse survival, it did not reach statistical significance when UIP pattern was added to this model. Acute exacerbation history was an independent risk factor for mortality; however, ILD-GAP still predicted mortality after adjusting for this factor. PaO 2 and 6-minute walk test desaturation were not significant risk factors. Conclusion: ILD-GAP index is a good predictor for mortality in fHP, even after adjusting for other mortality risk factors

Unfolding of Ubiquitin Studied by Picosecond Time-Resolved Fluorescence of the Tyrosine Residue

The photophysics of the single tyrosine in bovine ubiquitin (UBQ) was studied by picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, as a function of pH and along thermal and chemical unfolding, with the following results: First, at room temperature (25°C) and below pH 1.5, native UBQ shows single-exponential decays. From pH 2 to 7, triple-exponential decays were observed and the three decay times were attributed to the presence of tyrosine, a tyrosine-carboxylate hydrogen-bonded complex, and excited-state tyrosinate. Second, at pH 1.5, the water-exposed tyrosine of either thermally or chemically unfolded UBQ decays as a sum of two exponentials. The double-exponential decays were interpreted and analyzed in terms of excited-state intramolecular electron transfer from the phenol to the amide moiety, occurring in one of the three rotamers of tyrosine in UBQ. The values of the rate constants indicate the presence of different unfolded states and an increase in the mobility of the tyrosine residue during unfolding. Finally, from the pre-exponential coefficients of the fluorescence decays, the unfolding equilibrium constants (K(U)) were calculated, as a function of temperature or denaturant concentration. Despite the presence of different unfolded states, both thermal and chemical unfolding data of UBQ could be fitted to a two-state model. The thermodynamic parameters T(m) = 54.6°C, ΔH(Tm) = 56.5 kcal/mol, and ΔC(p) = 890 cal/mol//K, were determined from the unfolding equilibrium constants calculated accordingly, and compared to values obtained by differential scanning calorimetry also under the assumption of a two-state transition, T(m) = 57.0°C, ΔH(m)= 51.4 kcal/mol, and ΔC(p) = 730 cal/mol//K