Emerging opportunities for ambient intelligence in creativity support tools

The fundamental challenge in developing and evaluating creativity support tools is that we are not able to detect when a person is being creative. In this position paper we described our perspective of ambient intelligence in creativity support tools specially in the use of creative writing environments. Starting with the activity theory, we describe a simple analysis of writing sessions involving 100 students from a higher school, and recorded using a keystroke logging program called Inputlog and the program iTALC to support it. Specifically, we outline the writing activity goals and the interaction design goals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modelling of Biotechnological Processes - An approach based on Artificial Neural Networks

In this chapter we describe a software tool for modelling fermentation processes, the FerMoANN, which allows researchers in biology and biotechnology areas to access the potential of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for this task. The FerMoANN is tested and validated using two fermentation processes, an Escherichia coli recombinant protein production and the production of a secreted protein with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in fed-batch reactors. The application to these two case studies, tested for different configurations of feedforward ANNs, illustrate the usefulness of these structures, when trained according to a supervised learning paradigm

Serious Economic Pests of Coffee That May Accidentally be Introduced to Hawai'i

The purpose of this publication is to provide information about serious diseases and pests of coffee not present in the Hawaiian Islands that can be accidentally introduced on or in coffee berries brought in for seed purposes. Particularly, we focus on those diseases and pests that could be a threat to coffee production in Hawai'i. The publication is designed to serve as a reference for growers, county agents, consultants, researchers, and quarantine personnel

Incorporation of industrial wastes in wood pellets

ABSTRACT: The present work evaluates the incorporation of industrial wastes (Refuse Derived Fuel-RDF) into biomass for pellet production. Its influence on parameters such as pellet production, combustion and gas emissions was studied for up to 10% of residues incorporation. This approach also deals with the diverting of industrial waste from landfills. The main objectives were: increasing the heat value of the final product, diverting industrial residues with energy potential from landfill and assess the quality of different types of pellets with incorporation of industrial residues. Its implementation was carried out in three phases: selection and characterization of the different industrial residues, production of pellets from different mixtures of wastes and combustion tests. For this purpose a comprehensive characterization of the pellets, the gaseous emissions during combustion and the chemical characterization of the resulting ashes was carried out. The study has shown that the application of industrial residues is a promising route for their incorporation in pellets which should be balanced by the reduction of wastes for landfill. However a few problems were identified: higher difficulty in pelletizing and likely excessive wear of the pellet mill for some of the residues; combustion equipment requiring air supply adjustment and higher ash contents

Passive solar system applied in trombe walls

Publicado em "Proceedings of the 7 th International Conference on Safety and Durability of Structures: ICOSADOS 2016"A phase-change material (PCM) is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and solidifying at a certain temperature, is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy. Heat is absorbed or released when the material changes from solid to liquid and vice versa; thus, PCMs are classified as latent heat storage (LHS) units. The work presented in this paper is related to the study of a passive solar system applied in facades with Trombe wall. In particular it was evaluated the effect of the incorporation of phase changing materials (PCM's) was assessed using namely PCM based on paraffin and another one based on octadecane. For this purpose, firstly an experimental campaign conducted at Bragança Polytechnic Institute was performed in order to evaluate the blending mode of all the constituents of the mortar, the content of PCM to incorporate in the mortar as well as the involved water quantity, including mechanical characterization of the mortar with and without PCM. The second part was devoted to the study of tests models using cement mortar and an appropriate geometry, by exposure to atmospheric thermal action. With data acquisition equipment it was possible to obtain temperature records and thermal conductivity of the main facade elements in 10 to 10 minutes intervals and so it was possible to establish a comparison between the tested models. Main conclusions of this work are that the incorporation of PCM's into thermal mortars can bring benefits in terms of thermal comfort, greater efficiency and sustainability to buildings, as well as improve the efficiency of Trombe wall building system

Resistência extrema a duas estirpes do Potato virus Y (PVY) de batata transgênica, cv. Achat, expressando o gene da capa protéica do PVYO

The coat protein (CP) gene of the potato virus Y strain “o” (PVYO) was introduced into potato, cultivar Achat, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Sixty three putative transgenic lines were challenged against the Brazilian strains PVY-OBR and PVY-NBR. An extremely resistant phenotype, against the two strains, was observed in one line, denominated 1P. No symptoms or positive ELISA results were observed in 16 challenged plants from this line. Another clone, named as 63P, showed a lower level of resistance. Southern blot analysis showed five copies of the CP gene in the extremely resistant line and at least three copies in the other resistant line. The stability of the integrated transgenes in the extreme resistant line was examined during several in vitro multiplications over a period of three years, with no modification in the Southern pattern was observed. The stability of the transgenes, the absence of primary infections and the relatively broad spectrum of resistance suggest that the extremely resistant line obtained in this work can be useful for agricultural purposes.O gene da capa protéica (CP) do Potato virus Y estirpe “o”, foi introduzido em batata cultivar Achat, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Sessenta e três linhas possivelmente transgênicas foram desafiadas com as estirpes brasileiras PVY-OBR e PVY-NBR. Uma linha apresentou extrema resistência às duas estirpes inoculadas, e foi denominado clone 1P. Não foram observados sintomas sistêmicos de infecção e as plantas foram negativas em Elisa. Outra linha, denominada clone 63P, mostrou algum nível de resistência. Análises por Southern blot indicaram a presença de pelo menos cinco cópias do gen CP no clone 1P e pelo menos três cópias no clone 63P. A estabilidade do gene introduzido no clone 1P foi avaliada durante três anos, após várias multiplicações in vitro. Não foram observadas mudanças no padrão do Southern blot. A estabilidade do transgene, na ausência de infecções primárias e relativo largo espectro de resistência sugerem que o clone 1P pode ser utilizado para fins comerciais.Fil: Romano, Eduardo. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Ferreira, Adriana T.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Dusi, André N.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Proite, Karina. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Buso, Jose A.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Avila, Antonio C.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Nishijima, Marta L.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Nascimento, Adriana S.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Bravo Almonacid, Fernando Felix. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Mentaberry, Alejandro Nestor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Monte, Damares. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Campos, Magnolia A.. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Melo, Paulo Eduardo. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Cattony, Monica K.. No especifica;Fil: Torres, Antonio C.. Embrapa Hortaliças; Brasi

Early predictors of career development: A 10-year follow-up study

This paper presents empirical findings from a 10-year longitudinal study of the educational and occupational socialization of 445 participants who were about 7 years old when first tested, and about 17 years old at the fourth time of measurement. In addition to collecting psychological measurements from the participants, behavioral reports were collected from significant others, specifically parents and teachers. Findings demonstrated that the life/career evolution of the participants can be understood only when taking into account the dynamic interaction between the unique personal characteristics of individuality of each person and the psychosocial theatre within which the person's development takes place. Using the life-span, life-space framework of Super, and the Developmental-Contextual model from Vondracek, different emerging early predictors with unique impact on the process of educational and occupational socialization were identified, especially with respect to the probability of dropping out of school. Results in terms of gender, parental influences, psychological characteristics, and social context are discussed with regard to their potential implications for psychological interventions in schools, families, and occupational settings, as well as with regard to personal counseling in what concerns the management of life circumstances and behavioral ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WMN-4K4WMXS-1/1/81776838ae5ea3c58ff98cf864f1d43

Quantum corrections to the phase diagram of heavy-fermion superconductors

The competition between magnetism and Kondo effect is the main effect determining the phase diagram of heavy fermion systems. It gives rise to a quantum critical point which governs the low temperature properties of these materials. However, experimental results made it clear that a fundamental ingredient is missing in this description, namely superconductivity. In this paper we make a step forward in the direction of incorporating superconductivity and study the mutual effects of this phase and antiferromagnetism in the phase diagram of heavy fermion metals. Our approach is based on a Ginzburg-Landau theory describing superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in a metal with quantum corrections taken into account through an effective potential. The proximity of an antiferromagnetic instability extends the region of superconductivity in the phase diagram and drives this transition into a first order one. On the other hand superconducting quantum fluctuations near a metallic antiferromagnetic quantum critical point gives rise to a first order transition from a low moment to a high moment state in the antiferromagnet. Antiferromagnetism and superconductivity may both collapse at a quantum bicritical point whose properties we calculate.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure