A discussion concerning active infrared thermography in the evaluation of buildings air infiltration

[EN] The EU is strongly committed to energy saving in buildings. Air leaks through the building envelope represent a significant percentage of buildings energy consumption. Locating and minimizing air leaks is thus necessary to optimize energy efficiency. This work presents the results of an experimental campaign that aimed to promote a discussion concerning the opportunities and constraints of using active IRT to detect air leakage points. The potential of active IRT was evaluated both in a qualitative approach, by comparing the thermograms with the ones obtained with passive IRT, and in a quantitative one, by testing methods of numerically interpret the thermograms. The results allowed concluding that active IRT increases the thermal contrast and the affected area, proving that active IRT combined with pressure differences is an effective methodology for detecting air infiltrations. In the quantitative approach different numerical methods can be used. Their selection depends on the aims of the study, as they can highlight different perspectives of the phenomenon. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work was financially supported by: Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007457 - CONSTRUCT - Institute of R&D In Structures and Construction funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI) - and by national funds through FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia.Lerma Elvira, C.; Barreira, E.; Almeida, R. (2018). A discussion concerning active infrared thermography in the evaluation of buildings air infiltration. Energy and Buildings. 168:56-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.02.050S566616

Educação popular em Portugal: professores em defesa das Escolas Primárias Superiores (Porto, 1925)

This paper presents results of a historical research on organized action of teachers at the very end of the First Portuguese Republic. Guided by Norberto Bobbio’s reflections on intellectuals and power, this paper highlights the work of teachers who starred in significant changes in the history of the curriculum of higher primary schools existing then in Portugal. Organized around a guild – Guild of Teachers of Higher Primary Schools, whose official organ was entitled O Ensino do Povo –, such teachers promoted a campaign in defense of the schools where they were teaching, in response to criticism and threats of extinction that hovered over them. Once completed the investigation, it was possible to say that the organized work of these teachers allowed for the promotion of education reforms, so to speak, “from bottom to up”.Keywords: intellectuals, popular education, First Portuguese Republic.Este trabalho apresenta resultados de investigação histórica sobre a atuação organizada de professores no apagar das luzes da Primeira República portuguesa. Orientado pelas reflexões de Norberto Bobbio sobre os intelectuais e o poder, destaca a atuação de um grupo de professores que protagonizou mudanças curriculares significativas na história das escolas primárias superiores, então existentes em Portugal. Organizados em torno de um grêmio – Grêmio dos Professores de Escolas Primárias Superiores, cujo órgão oficial intitulava-se O Ensino do Povo –, tais professores promoveram uma campanha em defesa das escolas em que lecionavam, em resposta às críticas e ameaças de extinção que pairavam sobre elas. Uma vez concluída a investigação, foi possível afirmar que a atuação organizada desses professores possibilitou a promoção de reformas do ensino, por assim dizer, “de baixo para cima”.Palavras-chave: intelectuais, educação popular, Primeira República Portuguesa

Comparison of reconstruction methods for water supply systems flow rate time series

Trabalho apresentado em International Conference on Water Energy Food and Sustainability (ICoWEFS 2021), 10 -12 maio, 2021, onlineThe purpose of this paper is to compare the performance of five univariate models for the reconstruction of flow rate time series. Errors in the measurements may occur due to problems in the sensor or in the communication system with data logger, thus generating missing data in the flow rate time series. The presence of missing values in flow rate data restricts its use in network operation processes. The performance of seasonal ARIMA, Standard and double seasonality Holt-Winters, and original and improved Quevedo approach are assessed. The analysis is made considering a real Portuguese case study and 1- month of flow rate data at 1-hour and 10-minute period. The holidays compared to the weekdays show great differences in consumption patterns. For this reason, the effect of forecasting holidays is assessed. Obtained results evidence that the improved Quevedo model can cope with different time step intervals and type of day being forecasted, with a reduced computation time.N/

All-ceramic and porcelain-fused-to-metal fixed partial dentures: a comparative study by 2D finite element analyses

All-ceramic fixed partial dentures (FPDs) have an esthetic approach for oral rehabilitation. However, metal-ceramic FPDs are best indicated in the posterior area where the follow-up studies found a lower failure rate. This 2D finite element study compared the stress distribution on 3-unit all-ceramic and metal-ceramic FPDs and identified the areas of major risk of failure. Three FPD models were designed: (1) metal-ceramic FPD; (2) All-ceramic FPD with the veneering porcelain on the occlusal and cervical surface of the abutment tooth; (3) All-ceramic FPD with the veneering porcelain only on the occlusal surface. A 100 N load was applied in an area of 0.5 mm² on the working cusps, following these simulations: (1) on the abutment teeth and the pontic; (2) only on the abutment teeth; and (3) only on the pontic. Relative to the maximum stress values found for the physiological load, all-ceramic FPD with only occlusal veneering porcelain produced the lowest stress value (220 MPa), followed by all-ceramic FPD with cervical veneering porcelain (322 MPa) and metal-ceramic FPD (387 MPa). The stress distribution of the load applied on the abutments was significantly better compared to the other two load simulations. The highest principal stress values were low and limited in a small area for the three types of models under this load. When the load was applied on the pontic, the highest stress values appeared on the connector areas between the abutments and pontic. In conclusion, the best stress values and distribution were found for the all-ceramic FPD with the veneering porcelain only on the occlusal surface. However, in under clinical conditions, fatigue conditions and restoration defects must be considered

Industrial Mobile App for a Sensor Cloud

Ao longo dos últimos anos, o conceito deIntelligent Manufacturing, tem sido alvo de atenção porgrande parte das empresas do meio. A virtualização do chão de fábrica, o rápido e fácil acesso ainformação sobre as máquinas e a colaboração entre equipamentos no fabrico, são alguns exem-plos das últimas tendências nesta área. Estes desenvolvimentos ao nível dosoftware,hardwaree tratamento de dados podem ter um impacto muito significativo no modo como oshop-floorécompreendido, analizado, interpretado e operado.Neste contexto foi desenvolvido oSelSus - Health Monitoring and Life-Long Capability Man-agement for SELF-SUStaining Manufacturing Systems. Este projeto surge como uma ferramentade diagnóstico integrada, com conhecimento do estado e do histórico de todos os componentes queconstituem um sistema ou uma fábrica, através daSensor Cloude daWireless Sensor Network.Atualmente ossmartphonessão um dos dispositivos electrónicos mais utilizados. Estes pos-suem diversos sensores e funcionalidades embutidas que podem ser aplicadas na indústria parasupervisionar máquinas, operadores e o processo de interação entre estes e o sistema/processo defabrico. Com esta ideia em mente, o foco principal deste projecto é o desenvolvimento de umaaplicação móvel, em Android, que permita a captura e monitorização de informação importanterelacionada com a máquina e com o estado do sistema. Esta aplicação tem duas funcionalidadesprincipais: uma interface para mostrar a informação e o processamento embebido nas máquinas,quer em tempo real, quer para um determinado período de tempo, e uma ferramenta que permite aoutilizador capturar informação dos vários sensores integrados com osmartphone. O equipamentoserá aproveitado ao máximo em termos da quantidade de dados que pode ser adequirida.O principal objectivo da industria prende-se com a redução de custos, o que pode ser atingidoreduzindo o tempo de inactividade das máquinas. Em caso de falha, a linha de produção em quea máquina está integrada pára, o que representa um desperdício de tempo de produção e podetambém provocar danos nas matérias primas. A aplicação desenvolvida torna possível recolherdados que podem ser utilizados pelas técnicas de manutenção preventiva. Isto é possível, umavez que toda a informação é enviada para a sensor cloud e tratada como informação adicional dam�\xA1quina. O objectivo principal é então, monitorizar o estado da máquina e tentar prever falhaspara que a manutenção adequada possa ser efectuada de ante-mão, evitando perda de desempenho.In the field of Intelligent Manufacturing there are some topics that have gotten lots of attentionin the past few years. The virtualization of shop-floor equipment, the easy access to the machineinformation or the collaboration among shop-floor equipment are examples of the latest trends inthis field. This technological developments in software, hardware and data treatment can have ahuge impact on how the shop-floor is perceived, analyzed, interpreted and operated.In this context, SelSus - Health Monitoring and Life-Long Capability Management for SELF-SUStaining Manufacturing Systems was developed. This project comes as a new synergetic diag-nostic and prognosis environment fully aware of the condition and history of all machine compo-nents within a system or factory, making use of a Sensor Cloud and a Wireless Sensor Network.Presently, smartphones are one of the most used electronic devices and they have many sensorsand built in functionalities that can be used in the industry for monitoring the process of machinesand operators' interaction with the manufacturing system. Following this idea, the main focusof this project is the development of an Android mobile application that allows the capture andmonitoring of important information related to the machines and system state. This applicationhas two main functionalities: an interface to show the machine related data and analysis, both inreal-time and non-real time, and a tool that allows the user to capture data from the various sensorsbuilt in the smartphone. This equipment will be used to its fullest in terms of how much data itcan acquire.The main goal in the industry is to reduce costs, which can be achieved by reducing the downtime of the machines. If the machine fails, the production line in which that machine is integratedstops, which results in a waste of production time and may also damage raw materials. Thedeveloped application will help make predictive maintenance and prevent unexpected failures inthe machine. This can be achieved, as all data will be sent to the Sensor Cloud and treated asadditional information for a specific machine. The main objective is to check the state of themachine and try to predict failures so that maintenance can be performed beforehand, avoiding itsloss of performance

Demonstração da viabilidade do uso da técnica de análise dos modos de falha e feitos na redução de riscos na actividade de armazenista de produtos fitofarmacêuticos

Este trabalho tem como tema central a aplicação da ferramenta de Análise dos Modos de Falha e Efeitos (FMEA) para avaliar e melhorar a eficiência da gestão dos armazéns de distribuição e venda de Produtos Fitofarmacêuticos (PF) ao abrigo do actual quadro jurídico, imposto através do Decreto-Lei 173/2005, decreto este que veio colmatar a grave lacuna que existia em relação ao licenciamento dessa actividade. Para melhor enquadrar o tema, definiu-se o conceito de PF. Os PF são produtos químicos, que acarretam riscos inerentes à sua natureza, identificaram-se esses riscos e as medias de prevenção/protecção a utilizar. A armazenagem de PF, como parte inseparável da venda destes produtos, é abordada, não só do ponto de vista dos riscos e como os minimizar, mas também, do ponto de vista da gestão de armazém, sendo esta, uma medida organizacional que visa minimizar o risco na manipulação dos PF. Da mesma maneira, definiu-se o conceito da FMEA, possíveis campos de aplicação, os elementos básicos que a compõem e as etapas de implementação. Concluiu-se que é viável a utilização do uso da FMEA na determinação das medidas correctivas para a maximização da redução dos riscos na actividade de armazenista e venda de PF.This work is focused on the application of the tool Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) to evaluate and improve the efficiency of warehouse management concerning the distribution and sale of Plant Protection Products (PPP) under the current legal framework, which was imposed through the Decree-Law 173/2005 of 21st October. This Decree has come to bridge the serious gap that existed in relation to the licensing of such activity. To get a better frame of the issue, the concept of PPP was defined. The PPP are chemicals that bring about inherent risks, and these risks were identified as well as the prevention/protection measures to be used. The storage of PPP, seen as an inseparable part of the sale of these products, is addressed not only from the point of view of their risks and how to minimize them, but also from the point of view of the warehouse management, which is an organizational measure that seeks to minimize the manipulation risk of PPP. Likewise, it was defined the concept of FMEA, as well as its possible fields of application, the basic elements that compose it and its implementation stages. It was concluded that it is viable to use FMEA in the determination of corrective measures to maximize risk reduction in the activity of storing and selling PPP

Self-regulated learning in higher education : strategies adopted by computer programming students

Trabalho apresentado em PAEE/ALE’2016, 8th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education (PAEE) and 14th Active Learning in Engineering Education Workshop (ALE)To help students overcome their learning difficulties in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming, developing an appropriate set of learning strategies, the SimProgramming teaching approach has been adopted at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal). This approach is based on four conceptual foundations: businesslike learning environment, self-regulated learning, co-regulated learning, and formative assessment. In this approach the students develop an activity based on problem-based learning, with a specific set of tasks based on those four conceptual foundations. The approach was implemented in two courses from the second and third curricular years of the bachelor programmes in Informatics Engineering and Information & Communication Technologies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with students (n=32) at the end of the courses, to try to identify the students’ strategies for self-regulation of learning in the activity developed within the SimProgramming approach. The main strategies identified were: organization, planning, time management, identification of difficulties, resolution of the difficulties encountered, work review, identification of the factors that influenced their motivation, and structure of the environment. The factors influencing the motivation most often identified by students were the impact of the assessment in the final course grade, the completion of the course, learning, skills development, and teamwork. Generally, students applied strategies to solve the difficulties, in particular by searching for social help and information search. Procrastination was also often identified by students. Strategies of time management, transformation of information, in-depth review, self-reflection, and self-evaluation were referenced scantily. We found that students changed some of their strategies from one course edition to the next. We conclude by recommending the development of educational practices to help students review their work, treat and process the information they find, conduct self-reflection and self-evaluation of their performance during tasks, adopt concentration strategies, and become aware of their specific difficulties

As inspeções/avaliações externas de escolas: efeitos nas instituições escolares descritos em artigos publicados desde 2016

This article aims to carry out a systematic review of the effects of school inspections/school external evaluations in schools, presented in the results published by open access articles, published in scientific journals, present in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, since 2016 to date (08/14/2021). Keyword searches were carried out, titles, abstracts, keywords and full texts were read and support software was used. From 914 initial articles, 14 articles were considered relevant. The evidence of the occurrence of unwanted effects is the one that is most present. Longitudinal studies, involving several schools, using control groups, will increase knowledge of the occurrence of the effects.Este artículo tiene como objetivo realizar una revisión sistemática de los efectos de las inspecciones escolares/evaluaciones escolares externas en las escuelas, presentados en los resultados publicados por artículos de acceso abierto, publicados en revistas científicas, presentes en las bases de datos Web of Science y Scopus, desde 2016 a fecha (14/08/2021). Se realizaron búsquedas de palabras clave, se leyeron títulos, resúmenes, palabras clave y textos completos y se utilizó software de apoyo. De 914 artículos iniciales, 14 artículos se consideraron relevantes. La evidencia de la ocurrencia de efectos no deseados es la que está más presente. Los estudios longitudinales, que involucren a varias escuelas, utilizando grupos de control, aumentarán el conocimiento de la ocurrencia de los efectos.Este artigo tem por objetivo realizar uma revisão sistemática sobre os efeitos das inspeções escolares/avaliações externas de escola nas escolas, apresentados nos resultados divulgados por artigos de acesso aberto, publicados em revistas científicas, presentes nas bases de dados Web of Science e Scopus, desde 2016 até o momento (14/08/2021). Foram efetuadas pesquisas por palavras-chave, realizadas leituras dos títulos, resumos, palavras-chave e textos integrais e utilizado software de apoio. De 914 artigos iniciais, consideraram-se relevantes 14 artigos. As evidências de ocorrência de efeitos não desejados, são aquelas que estão mais presentes. A realização de estudos longitudinais, envolvendo várias escolas, com utilização de grupos de controlo, aumentará o conhecimento da ocorrência dos efeitos

Gestão de infestantes de inverno e primavera em vinha e olival com um fertilizante ecológico com propriedades herbicidas

Weeds reduce crop yields and require annual measures of control, although they can provide important ecological benefits. In this work, the efficacy was tested of an ecological fertilizer with herbicidal properties (Bioscrop Herbitec®) which in high concentrations (10-15%) can have a similar effect to a contact herbicide. The composition of the product is 6.0 % of water-soluble potassium oxide, 54.7 % of organic acids and 39.3 % of dispersants and diluents. The product was tested in six field trials during two years, which included two vineyards and two olive orchards and winter and spring vegetation. In each experiment three treatments were imposed, being the product applied at the concentrations of 10% and 15% and a non-treated control. In treated plots, the entire ground surface (rows and inter-rows) was sprayed. The evaluation of the effect of the treatments on vegetation was assessed by the pin point and grid methods which consisted of determining the percentage of damaged and not damaged vegetation and bare soil. The production of dry biomass of weeds was also evaluated as a measure of the persistence of the damage on vegetation. The floristic composition of the stands was also recorded to evaluate the specific susceptibility of the weeds to the different treatments. The results showed that the product severely damaged the vegetation, and the effect persisted for more than a month. The application of the product caused a severe reduction in the aboveground biomass while keeping the soil protected, showing a useful compromise between the reduction in weed competition and the maintenance of ground cover. Some species were severely damaged while others seemed to have benefited in relative terms, suggesting that the effectiveness of the product will be dependent on the weed species present.As infestantes reduzem a produtividade das culturas e requerem medidas anuais de combate, embora também possam fornecer importantes serviços ecossistémicos. Neste trabalho foi testada a eficácia de um produto ecológico (Bioscrop Herbitec®) que, em altas concentrações (10- 15%), pode ter um efeito semelhante ao de um herbicida de contato. O produto contém 6,0 % de óxido de potássio solúvel em água, 54,7 % de ácidos orgânicos e 39,3 % de dispersantes e diluentes. O produto foi testado em seis ensaios de campo, em duas vinhas e dois olivais e sobre vegetação de inverno e de primavera. Em cada ensaio foram testados três tratamentos, correspondentes à aplicação do produto em duas concentrações (10 e 15%) e uma modalidade testemunha. Nos talhões tratados o produto foi aplicado nas linhas e entrelinhas. O efeito dos tratamentos na vegetação foi avaliado pelos métodos do ponto quadrado e da grelha, que consistiram em determinar o grau de cobertura do solo com vegetação danificada, não danificada e solo nu. A produção de matéria seca das infestantes foi também avaliada como medida da persistência do dano na vegetação. A composição florística dos cobertos foi também registada como forma de avaliar a suscetibilidade específica das infestantes aos diferentes tratamentos. Os resultados mostraram que o produto danificou severamente a vegetação e o efeito persistiu por mais de um mês. A aplicação do produto causou uma redução significativa da biomassa aérea, mas manteve o solo protegido, mostrando um equilíbrio interessante entre a redução da competição das infestantes e a proteção do solo. Algumas espécies foram fortemente danificadas, enquanto outras parecem ter beneficiado em termos relativos, sugerindo que a eficácia do produto dependerá das espécies infestantes presentesThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). The results of the first year of studies of this work were extracted from the master's thesis in Agroecology of the first author (António Barreira)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Neuromuscular changes in football players with previous hamstring injury

Impact of prior injury on myoelectrical activity of the hamstrings during isokinetic eccentric contractions has received increased literature attention. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess neuromuscular adaptations, namely proprioception, core stability, muscle strength, extensibility and activity, in football players with history of hamstring strain injury.publishe