Emissions Reporting Maturity Model: supporting cities to leverage emissions-related processes through performance indicators and artificial intelligence

Climate change and global warming have been trending topics worldwide since the Eco-92 conference. However, little progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs). The problems and challenges related to emissions are complex and require a concerted and comprehensive effort to address them. Emissions reporting is a critical component of GHG reduction policy and is therefore the focus of this work. The main goal of this work is two-fold: (i) to propose an emission reporting evaluation model to leverage emissions reporting overall quality and (ii) to use artificial intelligence (AI) to support the initiatives that improve emissions reporting. Thus, this work presents an Emissions Reporting Maturity Model (ERMM) for examining, clustering, and analysing data from emissions reporting initiatives to help the cities to deal with climate change and global warming challenges. The Performance Indicator Development Process (PIDP) proposed in this work provides ways to leverage the quality of the available data necessary for the execution of the evaluations identified by the ERMM. Hence, the PIDP supports the preparation of the data from emissions-related databases, the classification of the data according to similarities highlighted by different clustering techniques, and the identification of performance indicator candidates, which are strengthened by a qualitative analysis of selected data samples. Thus, the main goal of ERRM is to evaluate and classify the cities regarding the emission reporting processes, pointing out the drawbacks and challenges faced by other cities from different contexts, and at the end to help them to leverage the underlying emissions-related processes and emissions mitigation initiatives

Uma arquitetura XML para computação voluntária P2P

Diversas arquiteturas propostas para computação colaborativa, ou computação voluntária, apresentam as seguintes características: (i) controle centralizado; (ii) setup complexo para não-especialistas. Este artigo introduz a IeC (Infraestrutura Colaborativa): uma arquitetura para computação colaborativa peer-to-peer — P2P — implementada sobre XML, que é de fácil implantação por usuários não-especialistas e de simples utilização por desenvolvedores de aplicações para ambientes colaborativos. O uso de um mecanismo simples de escalonamento distribuído para o balanceamento de carga nos nós computacionais participantes é avaliado em termos da escalabilidade da arquitetura proposta e da qualidade do balanceamento. Tal foi obtido através de simulações usando-se como benchmark um lote de problemas do tipo RCPS — Resource Constrained Project Scheduling

Uma abordagem Branch and Bound para RCPSP em um ambiente de computação colaborativa

Um projeto pode ser representado por uma rede de atividades formando um grafo de precedência, direcionado e acíclico. Quando a quantidade de recursos existentes é limitada, o problema de determinação do menor tempo de realização do projeto é conhecido como RCPSP (Resource Constrained Project Scheduling). A solução ótima para o problema RCPS é reconhecidamente NP-hard. Este artigo mostra um algoritmo distribuído para a solução ótima do problema RCPS usando uma abordagem branch and bound. Este algoritmo foi implementado e avaliado num ambiente de computação colaborativa, do tipo peer to peer, com escalonamento adaptativo distribuído para balanceamento de carga nos nós computacionais. Os resultados sugerem a escalabilidade do algoritmo apenas com a adição de nós computacionais

Diacutaneous fibrolysis versus passive stretching after articular immobilisation : muscle recovery and extracellular matrix remodelling

Introduction Atrophy and muscle shortening due to articular immobilisation are common problems in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Muscle stretching mechanical stimuli might be considered as the golden standard procedure to improve muscle flexibility in rehabilitation. Muscle stretching generates mechanotransduction, potentiating specific gene expression and promotes sarcomerogenesis and extracellular matrix remodelling on shortened and atrophied muscles. Hypothesis Diacutaneous fibrolysis, like stretching, uses an external force to stress connective and muscle tissues mechanically to treat muscle shortening; thus, it is widely used in clinical practice even if there is no evidence to support it. Considering this subject, we have hypothesised that diacutaneous fibrolysis can generate mechanotransduction, affecting muscle hypertrophy and extracellular matrix remodelling after immobilisation. Evaluation of hypothesis We have designed a laboratory experimental study with a sample of 50 rats. The sample was randomly divided into five groups: Control group (n = 10) with non–immobilised rats; 3–week immobilisation group (n = 10); 3–week immobilisation/3–week non–immobilisation group (n = 10);3–week immobilisation/3–week stretching group (n = 10); and 3–week immobilisation/3–week diacutaneous fibrolysis group (n = 10). All rats had their left tibiotarsal joint immobilised in maximum plantar flexion with the orthotics for 3 consecutive weeks. After the immobilisation period, the intervention groups received their respective intervention on their left triceps suralis for 3 weeks. Dependent variables of the study were sarcomere analysis, polymerase chain reaction, connective tissue density, collagen birefringence and matrix metalloproteinases. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance and Duncan post hoc test was applied for differences between groups. For all calculations, a 5% (p < 0.05) significance level was established. Conclusion If the hypothesis is confirmed, the present study might provide evidence to support the use of this physical therapy resource widely used to treat muscle dysfunctions

Predictors of happiness among retired from urban and rural areas in Brazil

Abstract This study compared differences in degree of happiness, social support, activities performed, and health and economic situation among retirees from urban and rural areas in Minas Gerais State in Brazil. The influences of these predictors over individuals&#8217; level of happiness were also analyzed. We included 279 retired individuals living in Abre Campo (a municipality with a population fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, which is considered a rural area) and in Belo Horizonte (a municipality with a population of almost 2.5 million inhabitants, which is considered an urban area). Participants responded to a questionnaire that included scales of happiness, social support, diversity of activities, and issues about satisfaction with health and economic situation. Retirees from the urban area had a higher happiness level than retirees from the rural area (&#946;= 0.16). The most important predictors of happiness were health (&#946;= 0.42), social support (&#946;= 0.26), and economic situation (&#946;= 0.15), but no moderation effects of urban and rural areas were found. Our findings support the implementation of actions to offer financial planning before retirement and to stimulate social support and health promotion for retirees, particularly given the importance of these factors in perception of happiness