Energy efficiency of social housing existing buildings – a portuguese case study

The European energy performance building regulations, Directive 2002/91/EC - Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) of the European Parliament and Council, require that new buildings present minimum standards of energy efficiency. Accordingly the Portuguese regulations require that new buildings comply with minimum requirements on the energy performance and must have an energy performance certification through witch an energy efficiency label is attributed to the housing. It also require that existing buildings must have an efficiency energy label when submitted to a commercial transaction or to a deep rehabilitation. To achieve this goal the study of energy performance of existing buildings must be done. As many essentials elements to determine the U-factor and other thermal parameters are unknown, Portugal developed a simplified methodology to achieve the thermal performance of existing buildings. The aim of this paper is to present the study of the energy performance of a set of social dwellings that were constructed during the decade of 80, constructed before the former building thermal comfort specifications came into force. During the study the referred methodology was applied and conclusions of the energy efficiency label obtained were put out as the encountered difficulties. The study also compares the results obtained by the simplified methodology and by the detailed methodology that is required by Portuguese building thermal comfort specifications

Sound synchronization of bubble trains in a viscous fluid : Experiment and modeling

Acknowledgements: We thank the São Paulo State Agency FAPESP and the Federal Brazilian Agency CNPq for the financial support. M.S.B. acknowledges EPSRC Grant No. EP/IO32606/1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comparison of Electric Vehicle Charging Efficiency with IEVCC and a typical EVSE

More than a fashion trend, EVs (Electric Vehicles) are here to stay and present themselves as a solution for combating climate change. In addition to the TCO (Total Cost Ownership) reductions, these vehicles are much more efficient than their equivalent ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) counter parts. Even if all the energy used to charge an EV comes from renewable sources, one of the points in the energy transfer chain, where efficiency can be optimized is in the charging process, whose efficiency depends on the charging power. This results from the fact that the EV internal charger has a fixed minimum power consumption to operate. Charging with a higher power results in less time charging, so less time is spent wasting energy on the EV internal charger. EVs come equipped with an internal charger whose charging power can be controlled by an external charge controller, commonly known as an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment). Manufacturers typically supply EVSEs with a fixed charging power setting, so they can be used on a household plug without any safety issues concerns. Usually, this power is set to around 2.3 kW for 230 V, but it is not uncommon to find values around 1.84 kW and very rarely 2.76 kW (which cor- responds to currents of 8∼12A). Often these EVSEs, due to the low charging power, do not always allow the users to restore the total charge used on a common day. In addition, the use of energy in a house is conditioned by the contracted power, which, if exceeded, triggers the main switchboard of the house. This requires some scheduling to manage an EV chargng session in conjunction with other house appliances usage. The use of an EVSE that considers the instantaneous house consumption and adjusts the EV charging to the maximum available power, allows to maximize the charging efficiency. A new EVSE that implements these functionalities has been developed and is addressed in this work. This EVSE, which is called IEVCC (Intelligent Electric Vehicle Charger Controller) is compared with a fixed EVSE, and the results show greater efficiency in the charging process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Endophytic fungi as a source of antibacterial compounds : a focus on gram-negative bacteria

Bacterial resistance has become one of the main motives in the worldwide race for undescribed antibacterial agents. The difficulties in the treatment of bacterial infections are a public health issue that increasingly highlights the need for antimicrobial agents. Endophytic microorganisms are a promising alternative in the search for drugs, due to the vast number of metabolites produced with unique characteristics and bioactive potential. This review highlights the importance of endophytic microorganisms as a source of secondary metabolites in the search for active molecules against bacteria of medical importance, with a special focus on gram-negative species. This fact is supported by the findings raised in this review, which brings an arsenal of 166 molecules with characterized chemical structures and their antibacterial activities. In addition, the low cost, ease of maintenance, and optimization-controlled fermentation conditions favor reproducibility in commercial scale. Given their importance, it is necessary to intensify the search for new molecules from endophytic microorganisms, and to increasingly invest in this very promising font

Porque comemos o que comemos?: determinantes psicossociais da selecção alimentar

Este artigo apresenta uma breve análise sobre os determinantes psicossociais do comportamento alimentar. É essencial compreendermos os factores subjacentes às escolhas alimentares dos indivíduos, isto é, compreendermos porque é que comemos os alimentos que comemos e porque comemos a quantidade de alimentos que comemos, se pretendemos intervir neste domínio, seja ao nível da promoção da saúde, seja ao nível da prevenção ou tratamento da doença. No presente trabalho, apresenta-se uma análise sobre alguns dos determinantes psicológicos e sociais da regulação do comportamento alimentar, bem como uma síntese de alguns dos modelos explicativos da selecção alimentar (Modelo Desenvolvimental e Modelo Cognitivo). Procedemos, ainda, a uma reflexão sobre a relação entre alimentos, emoções, cognições e comportamentos, assim como a uma reflexão sobre a relação entre o stress e o comportamento alimentar. ------ ABSTRACT ------ This paper presents a brief analysis of the psychosocial determinants of eating behaviour. It is essential to understand the factors underlying food selection, that is to say, the factors that contribute to the individual eating, what he/she eats and how much he/she eats. In this paper, we present an analysis of some of the psychological and social factors which regulate eating behaviour, as well as some of the theoretical models that try to explain eating behaviour regulation (namely the Developmental Model and the Cognitive Model). We also discuss some issues concerning the relation between food, emotion, cognition and behaviour, and the relation between stress and eating behaviour

Rapid prototyping of ubiquitous computing environments

Tese de doutoramento em InformáticaUbiquitous computing raises new usability challenges that cut across design and development. We are particularly interested in environments enhanced with sensors, public displays and personal devices. How can prototypes be used to explore the users' mobility and interaction, both explicitly and implicitly, to access services within these environments? Because of the potential cost of development and design failure, these systems must be explored using early assessment techniques and versions of the systems that could disrupt if deployed in the target environment. These techniques are required to evaluate alternative solutions before making the decision to deploy the system on location. This is crucial for a successful development, that anticipates potential user problems, and reduces the cost of redesign. This thesis reports on the development of a framework for the rapid prototyping and analysis of ubiquitous computing environments that facilitates the evaluation of design alternatives. It describes APEX, a framework that brings together an existing 3D Application Server with a modelling tool. APEX-based prototypes enable users to navigate a virtual world simulation of the envisaged ubiquitous environment. By this means users can experience many of the features of the proposed design. Prototypes and their simulations are generated in the framework to help the developer understand how the user might experience the system. These are supported through three different layers: a simulation layer (using a 3D Application Server); a modelling layer (using a modelling tool) and a physical layer (using external devices and real users). APEX allows the developer to move between these layers to evaluate different features. It supports exploration of user experience through observation of how users might behave with the system as well as enabling exhaustive analysis based on models. The models support checking of properties based on patterns. These patterns are based on ones that have been used successfully in interactive system analysis in other contexts. They help the analyst to generate and verify relevant properties. Where these properties fail then scenarios suggested by the failure provide an important aid to redesign.A computação ubíqua levanta novos desafios de usabilidade transversais ao seu desenvolvimento e design. Estamos particularmente interessados em ambientes enriquecidos com sensores, ecrãs públicos e dispositivos pessoais e em saber como podem ser utilizados protótipos na exploração da mobilidade e interação, implícita e explicita, dos utilizadores de forma a acederem a serviços desses ambientes. Devido às potenciais falhas do design proposto e aos elevados custos associados ao seu desenvolvimento, as características destes sistemas devem ser exploradas utilizando versões preliminares dos mesmos dado que estes podem vir a falhar quando implementados no destino, tornando a sua utilização inaceitável. Essas técnicas são necessárias por forma a avaliar soluções alternativas antes de decidir implementar o sistema fisicamente. Isto é crucial para um desenvolvimento com sucesso que antecipe potencias problemas do utilizador e reduza os custos de redesign. Esta tese descreve o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta para a prototipagem rápida e análise de ambientes de computação ubíqua como suporte à avaliação de designs alternativos. É apresentado a APEX, uma plataforma que junta um servidor de aplicações 3D com uma ferramenta de modelação. Os protótipos baseados na APEX permitem aos seus utilizadores finais navegarem numa simulação 3D do ambiente ubíquo projetado. Desta forma muitas das características do design proposto podem ser experienciadas pelos utilizadores. Os protótipos e respetivas simulações são gerados na plataforma para ajudar os designers/developers a entender como é que os utilizadores podem experienciar o sistema. Os protótipos são suportadas através de três camadas: a camada de simulação (utilizando um servidor de aplicações 3D); a camada de modelação (utilizando uma ferramenta de modelação) e uma camada física (utilizando dispositivos externos e utilizadores reais). A plataforma possibilita aos designers/ developers moverem-se entre estas camadas de forma a avaliar diferentes características do sistema, desde a experiencia do utilizador até ao seu comportamento através de uma analise exaustiva do sistema ubíquo baseada em modelos. Os modelos suportam a verificação de propriedades baseadas em padrões. Estes padrões são baseados em padrões existentes e já utilizados com sucesso, noutros contextos, na análise de sistemas interativos. Eles auxiliam a geração e verificação de propriedades relevantes. O local onde estas propriedade falham sugere um cenário de falha que fornece uma ajuda importante no redesign do sistema.ERDF through the Programme COMPETE and by the Portuguese Government through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, project PTDC/EIA-EIA/116069/2009 and by FCT, under the grant SFRH/BD/41179/2007