Viability of the use of leachates from a mechanical biological municipal solid waste treatment plant as fertilizers

The main environmental issue associated with compost production is the production of a liquid leachate. Leachate from municipal wastes contains carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements that can be used as nutrients by plants. The advantages of the use of organic wastes such as compost leachate as fertilizers are evident. Their use would reduce the consumption of commercial fertilizers, which need, with their production, high cost and energy. This work aims to determine the physical and chemical properties of a specific leachate with a variable composition, collected from the composting line of a mechanical and biological treatment facility. The goal is to assess if the leachates can be used as a potential source for fertilizers, and thus develop and design a sequence of processes which could effectively convert the leachates to commercial fertilizers according to the requirements of the proposal of regulation of the European Parliament of 2016 for fertilizers. Preliminary results show that the leachate samples qualitatively meet the requirements established for the composition of commercial fertilizers, especially organo-mineral fertilizers. Furthermore, there is no production cost of leachate as a raw material. The results show that the leachate is characterized by manageable concentrations of heavy metals which can be removed by adsorption processes, and it presents suitable amounts of organic carbon after a water removal procedure. However, the establishment of the conditions for suitable conversion processes are still under investigation considering the high composition variability due to factors like storage and environmental conditions.This work was financially supported by Project VALORCOMP, funded by FEDER through Program INTERREG V-A Spain–Portugal (POCTEP) 2014–2020. This work was assisted by Resíduos do Nordeste, an EIM company that provided the leachate samples.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PL EU: emoji, language games and political polarisation

Are emoji political? In an increasing body of research, emoji have variably been viewed as emotional data or personality identifiers. However, little attention has been paid to the social and political import of emoji. Using a dataset of politically active Twitter users in Poland, including 334 members of parliament and their 1,288,950 followers, we ask whether emoji are used for political self-representation, and discuss the implications for political identity formation and mobilisation online. Adapting a new method of ideal point estimation, we identify patterns in the employment of emoji in user Twitter bios across a latent political space computed from a Twitter following network. We find that emoji are used as stand-ins for o昀ffiine political symbols such as, and . Additionally, we find that the use of emoji without recognisable political meaning, such as,, and is contingent on a users estimated political ideal point. Users on the left are likelier to employ and, while those on the right are likelier to employ and . Using Ludwig Wittgenstein’s theory of language games, we argue that this points to the use of emoji for communication of both political values and affect, and to the development of a new political language game of emoji

Aplicação da técnica de moiré na análise de deformação em elementos de máquinas agrícolas

Development and optimization of projects for agricultural machinery involve the analysis of stress and strain. Moiré photomechanical techniques provide a complete displacement field of the specimen under test, and can aid in understanding the mechanical behavior of parts with complex geometry. Hybrid methods combine fringe patterns of displacement with distribution maps of stress and strain through concepts of the theory of elasticity. The objective of this work was to analyse the use of the shadow moiré technique in the qualitative determination of stress and strain distribution in geometrically complex machine elements. The results were compared with those from an electrical extensometer and a computer simulation. The results demonstrated that the shadow moire technique was quite reliable in analysing the mechanical behavior of geometrically complex machine elements.Desenvolvimento e otimização de projetos de máquinas agrícolas envolvem a análise de tensão e deformação. Técnicas fotomecânicas de moiré fornecem campo de deslocamento completo do corpo de prova e podem auxiliar no entendimento do comportamento mecânico de peças com geometria complexa. Métodos híbridos associam franjas padrões de deslocamento com mapas de distribuição de tensão e deformação, através de conceitos de teoria da elasticidade. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o uso da técnica de moiré de sombra para determinação qualitativa de distribuição de tensão e deformação em elementos de máquinas de geometria complexa. Os resultados foram comparados com o método de extensometria elétrica e por simulação computacional. Os resultados mostraram que a técnica de moiré de sombra foi bastante confiável para analisar o comportamento mecânico de elementos de máquinas de geometria complexa.47948

Quantum Inconsistency of Einstein Supergravity

We show that N=1, D=4 Einstein-frame supergravity is inconsistent at one loop because of an anomaly in local supersymmetry transformations. A Jacobian must be added to the Einstein-frame Lagrangian to cancel this anomaly. We show how the Jacobian arises from the super-Weyl field redefinition that takes the superspace Lagrangian to the Einstein frame. We present an explicit example which demonstrates that the Jacobian is necessary for one-loop scattering amplitudes to be frame independent.Comment: 16 pages, One figure, Latex. Published versio

Optimal Piecewise Linear Regression Algorithm for QSAR Modelling

Quantitative Structure‐Activity Relationship (QSAR) models have been successfully applied to lead optimisation, virtual screening and other areas of drug discovery over the years. Recent studies, however, have focused on the development of models that are predictive but often not interpretable. In this article, we propose the application of a piecewise linear regression algorithm, OPLRAreg, to develop both predictive and interpretable QSAR models. The algorithm determines a feature to best separate the data into regions and identifies linear equations to predict the outcome variable in each region. A regularisation term is introduced to prevent overfitting problems and implicitly selects the most informative features. As OPLRAreg is based on mathematical programming, a flexible and transparent representation for optimisation problems, the algorithm also permits customised constraints to be easily added to the model. The proposed algorithm is presented as a more interpretable alternative to other commonly used machine learning algorithms and has shown comparable predictive accuracy to Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and Random Generalised Linear Model on tests with five QSAR data sets compiled from the ChEMBL database

Aplicación de un sistema conversacional en el canal de Facebook usando procesamiento de lenguaje natural para la empresa pleromadabar durante la temporada 2020 a 2021

La razón del desarrollo de esta tesis es dar a conocer el proceso de aplicación y las etapas por las que se tuvieron que cursar, sobre el sistema conversacional de entrega de información en el canal de Facebook Messenger usando procesamiento de lenguaje natural para la empresa PleromaDabar. Para la creación de esta tesis se ha hecho uso de los conocimientos y habilidades obtenidos durante los ciclos de estudios de la carrera profesional de Ingeniería de Computación y Sistemas, a esto se le ha añadido el tiempo de experiencia laboral, networking profesional, así como otros conocimientos propios adquirido a través del tiempo. Se inicia el informe brindando información sobre el equipo de investigación que es autor de esta tesis, así como la definición de las etapas, la estimación de costos y tiempo a invertir en la presente investigación. La segunda parte, brinda información acerca de la problemática, objetivos y justificación de la investigación a realizar. La tercera parte, detalla estudios previos que se han realizado sobre el tema en estudio, así como la definición de la hipótesis junto con sus variables e indicadores, de esta investigación. Añadido a esto se detalla la población y muestra de estudio asó como el diseño, técnicas e instrumentos de investigación. La cuarta parte, detalla los aspectos a considerar sobre la empresa a la cual se le ha de aplicar la investigación. Además de la definición de tecnologías y plataformas, despliegue del sistema conversacional. Finalmente hacemos presentación de los resultados obtenidos, las cuales se detallan en la contrastación de la hipótesis de acuerdo a cada una de las variables determinadas previamente. Adicionalmente se trata la discusión de los resultados y conclusiones, extraídas de la aplicación de la presente investigaciónThe reason for the development of this thesis is to demonstrate the process of implementation and the stages that had to be taken, about the conversational system for information delivery through the Facebook Messenger channel using natural language processing for the company Pleroma Dabar. For the creation of this thesis, we have made use of the knowledge and skills obtained during the study cycles of the professional career of Computer and Systems Engineering, to this it has been added the time of work experience, professional networking, as well as other fields of knowledge acquired over time. The report begins by providing information about the research team that is author of this thesis, as well as the definition of the stages, the estimated costs and time to be invested in this research. The second part provides information about the problems, objectives and justification of the research to be carried out. The third part details previous studies that have been carried out on the subject under study, as well as the definition of the hypothesis together with its variables and indicators, of this research. In addition to this, the study population and sample are detailed, as well as the research design, techniques and instruments. The fourth part details the aspects to be considered about the company to which the research is to be applied. In addition we define the technologies, platforms and deployment of the conversational system. Finally, we present the obtained results, which are detailed in the testing of the hypothesis according to each of the variables previously determined. Additionally, we discuss the results and conclusions drawn from the application of this research.Tesi

Processo de classificação e seleção no Exército Português : contributos para a sua otimização

O recrutamento militar é preponderante para manter e regenerar o Sistema de Forças do Exército Português. Sucede que, nos últimos anos, o desafio de obter capital humano e talentos assumiu uma importância estratégica para a organização. A presente investigação, movida pelo facto do processo de classificação e seleção do Exército Português ter ditado uma atrição média de 40% nos candidatos à categoria de Praças nos últimos nove anos, propôs-se a analisar o mesmo e tecer contributos tendentes à sua melhoria. Esse desiderato desenvolveu-se segundo uma metodologia de raciocínio indutivo, com abordagem qualitativa e assente num desenho de pesquisa de estudo de caso. Os principais resultados evidenciaram fragilidades no âmbito da formação necessária e do processo de nomeação para determinadas funções, a par de ferramentas avaliativas que carecem de ser ajustadas à exigência da função e às caraterísticas do universo recrutável. Concluiu-se ser necessário maior estabilidade na função dos elementos que conduzem a avaliação psicológica e médica, assim como, a necessidade de formação específica para esta última. Constatou-se ainda, ser essencial a criação de mecanismos céleres de revisão e adequação dos instrumentos de avaliação por forma a otimizar o processo de selecionar a pessoa certa para a função certa.Military recruitment is crucial to maintain and regenerate the Portuguese Army Forces Structure. However, in recent years, the challenge of obtaining human capital and talent has taken on a strategic importance for the organization. The present investigation, driven by the fact that the Portuguese Army's classification and selection process has dictated an average attrition of 40% in candidates for the enlisted category in the last nine years, proposed to analyze it and make contributions aimed at its improvement. This desideratum was developed according to an inductive reasoning methodology, with a qualitative approach and based on a case study research design. The main results showed weaknesses in the scope of the necessary training and the appointment process for certain functions, along with the existence of tools that need to be adjusted to the requirements of the function and the recruitable universe. It is concluded that there is a need for stability in the function of the elements that lead to psychological and medical assessment, the need for specific training for medical assessment, and the importance of creating faster mechanisms for reviewing and adapting assessment instruments that balance levels of requirement of the role with the characteristics of the recruitable universe.N/