Cogeração e trigeração. Um caso prático

A necessidade de diminuir os consumos de energia, não só por questões financeiras mas, essencialmente, por questões ambientais fez com que fossem feitos esforços no sentido da implementação de sistemas de energias renováveis ou mesmo com rendimentos o mais elevados possíveis. Surge, então, em alternativa às grandes centrais convencionais e às redes de distribuição em alta tensão, a produção descentralizada de eletricidade, sendo que a cogeração era em finais de 2010 segundo a Galp Energia, responsável pela produção de cerca de 12% de todo o consumo de eletricidade no país e por 34% da produção em regime especial. A cogeração/trigeração surge como uma tecnologia interessante ao garantir economias de energia e competitividade acrescida às empresas e consiste basicamente na produção combinada de energia térmica e elétrica num mesmo equipamento, destinando‐se ambas ao consumo da própria empresa ou de terceiros, evitando ou atenuando a utilização de equipamentos próprios de produção de calor e aquisição de energia elétrica à rede. Neste artigo vamos familiarizar‐nos com esta solução energética, a cogeração/trigeração, que prova ser bastante eficiente, aplicando os princípios da produção combinada de eletricidade, calor e frio

CHARACTERISATION AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF PORTUGUESE WINE FARMS

This study aims to characterise the evolution of vineyard production, to measure the levels of technical efficiency, and to relate these with farmers and farms attributes. The sample used is composed of a panel of vineyard farms, for the period 2000-2005, belonging to Portuguese Alentejo region. The methodology used to estimate technical efficiency, was the stochastic production frontier. The results showed that there are room to improve the levels of technical efficiency in input use and that efficiency is variant with time. It was observed that technical efficiency increases with economic size and net farm income, as well as with family entrepreneurship.efficiency, parametric, vineyard, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management,

Using a humanoid robot as the promoter of interaction with children in the context of educational games

Society should care about those with special needs. Part of a proper care involves the development of new technologies and devices aiming at improving their quality of life. Research conducted at universities on this subject should be followed by the industrial development of commercial products and governmental institutions may play an important role by establishing conditions ensuring that the results are made available to those who need them. This paper presents the details of a system, still at the early stages of research level, aimed at helping children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It uses ZECA, a humanoid robot Zeno R-50, acting as the promoter of the interaction with children, by teaching colours and geometric figures in the context of two educational game scenarios: identification of five geometric figures and identification of five colours. So far, the system was tested in a school environment with typically developing children, in order to validate the experimental setup and the game design. The results obtained in these tests allowed optimizing the system before starting the work in elementary schools with children with ASD, which is the next step in the research.The authors also would like to express their acknowledgments to COMPETE: POCI-01-0145- FEDER-007043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.This work is funded by CIEd – Research Centre on Education, projects UID/CED/1661/2013 and UID/CED/1661/2016, Institute of Education, University of Minho, through national funds of FCT/MCTES-PT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The teas of Portuguese centenarians

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Introduction: Medicinal plants traditional consumption habits, can contribute to longevity. Methods: A sample of 253 centenarian individuals in Portugal, both sexes, median age 100 years, was studied, to verify past habits in relation to medicinal-interest plants use. It was compared with a control group median age 67 year, with a reduced theoretical probability of reaching 100 years. Results: Among the 8 most cited plants, in decreasing frequency order, in centenarian's group: Lemon-balm, barley, lemon-verbena, orange (leaf-flower), linden, whig-plant, pennyroyal and mount-carqueja (Pterospartum-tridentatum); in the control group: Lemon-balm, lemonverbena, chamomile, linden, prince-herb, green-tea, lemon-tea and minttea. Whereas 28% of the control subjects reported not using infusion plants, in the centennial group, only 9.1% reported not routinely use them (χ2¼30,42, po0.001). Among the 8 plants most marked by the centenarians that were not mentioned by the controls, they include barley, whig-plant, pennyroyal and mount-carqueja. Conclusion: the high antioxidant power associated with the use of plants by centenarian individuals, determined by anti-free radical's activity, lipoperoxidation inhibition and antitumor potential, may have contributed to their exceptional longevity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization and Technical Efficiency of Portuguese Wine Farms

This study aims to characterise the evolution of vineyard production, to measure the levels of technical efficiency, and to relate these with farmers and farms attributes. The sample used is composed of a panel of vineyard farms, for the period 2000-2005, belonging to Portuguese Alentejo region. The methodology used to estimate technical efficiency, was the stochastic production frontier. The results showed that there are room to improve the levels of technical efficiency in input use and that efficiency is variant with time. It was observed that technical efficiency increases with economic size and net farm income, as well as with family entrepreneurship

The role of automatic shape and position recognitionin streamlining manufacturing

The main features of most components consist of simple basic functional geometries: planes, cylinders, spheres and cones. Shape and position recognition of these geometries is essential for dimensional characterization of components, and represent an important contribution in the life cycle of the product, concerning in particular the manufacturing and inspection processes of the final product. This work aims to establish an algorithm to automatically recognize such geometries, without operator intervention. Using differential geometry large volumes of data can be treated and the basic functional geometries to be dealt recognized. The original data can be obtained by rapid acquisition methods, such as 3D survey or photography, and then converted into Cartesian coordinates. The satisfaction of intrinsic decision conditions allows different geometries to be fast identified, without operator intervention. Since inspection is generally a time consuming task, this method reduces operator intervention in the process. The algorithm was first tested using geometric data generated in MATLAB and then through a set of data points acquired by measuring with a coordinate measuring machine and a 3D scan on real physical surfaces. Comparison time spent in measuring is presented to show the advantage of the method. The results validated the suitability and potential of the algorithm hereby proposedCMAT, the Research Centre of Mathematics of the University of Minho with the Portuguese Funds from the “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia”, through the Project PEstOE/MAT/UI0013/2014; MEtRICs – (Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center); CGIT - Centro de Gestão Industrial e da Tecnologi

Envenomation by Micrurus coral snakes in the Brazilian Amazon region: report of two cases

Two cases of proven coral snake bites were reported in Belém, Pará State, Brazil. The first case was a severe one caused by Micrurus surinamensis. The patient required mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory failure. The second case showed just mild signs of envenomation caused by Micrurus filiformis. Both patients received specific Micrurus antivenom and were discharged without further complications. Coral snake bites are scarcely reported in the Amazon region and there is a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, varying from extremely mild to those which may rapidly lead to death if the patient is not treated as soon as possible.Dois acidentes por coral verdadeira são descritos em Belém, Pará. O primeiro caso foi decorrente de envenenamento por Micrurus surinamensis, no qual a vítima necessitou ventilação mecânica por insuficiência respiratória. O segundo, causado por Micrurus filiformis, apresentou apenas manifestações leves. Ambos os pacientes receberam soro antielapídico específico e evoluíram sem complicações. Acidentes por coral verdadeira na região Amazônica são raramente descritos e podem cursar com um largo espectro de alterações, que variam desde quadros de envenenamento muito leves até manifestações com risco de óbito

Produtividade e características biométricas de Sorgo Sacarino sob torta de Filtro / Productivity and biometric characteristics of Sorghum under Filter Pie

O sorgo sacarino tem se destacado dentre as culturas bioenergéticas, e a torta de filtro frequentemente tem sido utilizada como biofertilizante, devido seu alto potencial nutritivo para as plantas. Neste contexto, estre trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da aplicação de diferentes doses de torta de filtro sob as características de altura de plantas, diâmetro de colmo e produtividade de cultivares de sorgo sacarino. O delineamento experimental empregado foi o de blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 5x2, com 4 blocos, sendo cinco doses de torta de filtro: 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 t ha-1 e duas cultivares comerciais de sorgo sacarino (CVSW 80007 e BRS 506), totalizando 40 parcelas experimentais. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise de variância associada ao teste de F a 5% de probabilidade. Para comparação entre as cultivares utilizou-se o teste de Tukey e para fator doses de torta de filtro a análise de regressão foi empregada. Todas características das cultivares de sorgo sacarino estudadas foram influenciadas pela aplicação de doses de torta de filtro e pela cultivar. A cultivar BRS 506 apresentou melhor desempenho agronômico quando comparada à CVSW 80007. Para todas as características estudadas a cultivar BRS 506 apresentou comportamento linear crescente em função das doses de torta de filtro aplicadas. Já a cultivar CVSW 80007 apresentou resposta quadrática para produtividade de massa verde, com dose ótima de torta de filtro de 44,74 t ha-1,e, também para altura de plantas, cuja dose ótima foi de 41,25 t ha-1