First- and second-order phase transitions in Ising models on small world networks, simulations and comparison with an effective field theory

We perform simulations of random Ising models defined over small-world networks and we check the validity and the level of approximation of a recently proposed effective field theory. Simulations confirm a rich scenario with the presence of multicritical points with first- or second-order phase transitions. In particular, for second-order phase transitions, independent of the dimension d_0 of the underlying lattice, the exact predictions of the theory in the paramagnetic regions, such as the location of critical surfaces and correlation functions, are verified. Quite interestingly, we verify that the Edwards-Anderson model with d_0=2 is not thermodynamically stable under graph noise.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl

Characterization of all Surgical Specimens Provided by a Portuguese Department of Ophthalmology over a 13 Year Period

INTRODUCTION: We intend to evaluate clinically, topographically and morphologically all surgical specimens sent by the Department of Ophthalmology of Hospital de Braga to the Department of Pathology of the same hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two hundred and fifty eight surgically obtained specimens, from the Department of Ophthalmology of Hospital de Braga, analyzed in the Department of Pathology, from January 2002 to June 2015, were characterized. Data was arranged according to year, age, sex, topography and morphological diagnosis according to the SNOMED® coding system. RESULTS: Mean age at time of diagnosis was 54.6 years old; 52.3% were male subjects. The number of specimens was relatively stable until the year 2010, with a significant increase between 2011 and 2013. Most specimens sent corresponded to eyelid (54.7%), followed by conjunctiva (26.7%); the most common pathological diagnosis was malignant epithelial lesions (22.48%), followed by melanocytic tumours (22.09%) and benign epithelial lesions (17.05%). DISCUSSION: The results are distinct from previous publications presumably because of differences between the populations submitted to analysis. CONCLUSION: This is the first indexed publication characterizing surgical specimens from a Department of Ophthalmology in Portugal; moreover, it also includes an extensive review of global epidemiological data about ophthalmic surgical specimens.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Things2People interaction toward energy savings in shared spaces Using BIM

People in shared building space have an important role in energy consumption because they can turn on/off equipment and heat/cooling systems. This behaviour can be influenced by giving then locally tailored context information (energy consumption, temperature, luminosity) and information about the cost of their actions. This paper presents an approach to create personalized local energy consumption predictions in a building using past sensor data, correlated with external conditions to create local context predictions. This prediction is sent in real-time to people’s mobile devices in order to influence their behaviour when increasing or decreasing temperature using heating or cooling systems. This information is essential for sustainability actions in shared spaces, where this information can have an important role. Also, the data (temperature) representation in the building information model (BIM) module can help the user understand environment conditions and, together with the user sharing their thermal feelings, can be used to change behaviour. This approach using BIM’s representation models allows Things2People interaction to improve energy savings in these shared spaces.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How can the recall of early affiliative memories with peers influence on disordered eating behaviours?

The present study aimed to explore the role of early affiliative memories with peers on the adoption of disordered eating attitudes and behaviours through the mechanisms of external shame and self-judgment. The sample used in the current study comprised 632 women from the community, aged between 18 and 60 years old. The tested model explained 22% of eating psychopathology’s variance and showed excellent model fit indices. Results indicated that the impact of the recall of early positive memories with peers on eating psychopathology was fully carried through the mechanisms of external shame and self-judgment. In fact, these findings seem to suggest that the lack of warm and safe affiliative memories with peers is linked with higher levels of shame (e.g., feelings of inferiority and inadequacy), and also with higher vulnerability to engage in maladaptive emotional strategies (such as self-judgmental attitudes), which appears to explain the increase of disordered eating behaviours. These findings contribute to the understanding of the impact of peer-related early affiliative memories on the engagement in disordered eating. Furthermore, this study has significant clinical implications, emphasizing the importance of targeting shame and maladaptive emotional strategies, especially in a context involving early adverse emotional experiences with peers

Seismic vulnerability assessment of the old city centre of Seixal, Portugal

The seismic vulnerability assessment of old traditional masonry building stocks, in a seismic risk mitigation perspective, is truly essential not only for buildings with recognized historical and patrimonial value, but also, in relation to regular buildings. In this sense, this paper approaches the issue of the seismic vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings through the application of a simplified methodology to building stock of the old city centre of Seixal, Portugal. This methodology is based on a vulnerability index, suitable in the evaluation of damage and in the creation of large scale loss scenarios (economical and human). Over 500 buildings were evaluated in accordance with the referred methodology and the results obtained were then integrated into a Geographical Information System tool. The integration of this kind of vulnerability and loss results into a GIS tool allows that city councils or regional authorities make their decisions based on a global view of the site under analysis, which led to more accurate and faster decisions either in terms of risk mitigation strategies or rehabilitation plans. This tool can also assumes great importance in the construction of safety and rescue plans

Vulnerability assessment of urban building stock: a hierarchic approach

In the last decades the evaluation of the seismic risk are of rising concern, considered essential in the activity and definition of strategy planning and urban management. The evaluation of the seismic vulnerability of the existent building stock in the perspective of the seismic risk mitigation should not be placed only in relation to the isolated buildings of relevant historical and cultural importance, but also, in relation to the agglomerate of buildings in urban centres. The chronological construction process frequently results in characteristic heterogeneity of masonry and wall connection quality. In addition, buildings do not constitute independent units given that they share the mid-walls with adjacent buildings and the façade walls are aligned. This way, as post-seismic observations proved, buildings do not have an independent structural behaviour, but they interact amongst themselves, mainly for horizontal actions and so the structural performance should be studied at the level of the aggregate and not only for each isolated building. In most cases, for masonry structures there is no need for sophisticated dynamic analyses for seismic resistance verification or vulnerability assessment. This is even more relevant when an assessment at the level of a city centre is pursued. In this work, the results of evaluation of the vulnerability will be presented in accordance to three proposed methodologies based on a vulnerability index that consequently allows the evaluation of damage and creation of loss scenarios (economical and human) not only at the level of the building and its façade walls but also at the level of the aggregates. It will be discussed and evaluated the application of the referred methodologies and its integration in an SIG platform

Experiential avoidance versus Decentering abilities: The role of different emotional processes on disordered eating

In modern Western societies, the female body is a predominantly used dimension in self and social evaluations. In fact, the perceived discrepancy between one´s current and ideal body image may act as a pathogenic phenomenon for women´s well-being. Furthermore, significant differences in the tendency to engage in disordered eating attitudes and behaviours have been verified between women sharing similar characteristics and perceptions about weight and body shape, which suggests that different emotion regulation processes may be involved in this association. This study thus aims to clarify the mediational effect of two different emotional regulation processes, experiential avoidance and decentering, on the association of weight and body shape variables and shame with disordered eating, in a sample of 760 women. The tested path model explained 44% of disordered eating attitudes and behaviours and showed an excellent model fit. Results demonstrated that Body Mass Index had a direct effect, albeit weak, on disordered eating behaviours and that body image discrepancy and shame presented indirect effects through the mechanisms of experiential avoidance and decentering. Results also revealed that experiential avoidance and decentering showed significant mediator effects on the relationship of weight and body shape and shame with disordered eating behaviors. These findings suggested that while experiential avoidance exacerbates the impact of weight and body shape and shame on disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, decentering seems to attenuate this association. Our findings appear to offer significant clinical and research implications, highlighting the importance of targeting maladaptive emotion processes through the development of decentering abilities

Suporte à Decisão em Tecnologias de Comunicação : um caso com utilização de metodologias OLAP e Data Mining

Este artigo descreve um Sistema de Apoio à Decisão capaz de fornecer informação precisa e de qualidade sobre as comunicações na Electricidade Dos Açores (EDA). A decisão imediata a apoiar consistia em saber se as comunicações entre ilhas deveriam passar para tecnologias Voice over IP (VoIP), um serviço actualmente contratado a uma empresa de comunicações externa. Num projecto de business intelligence e usando tecnologias Microsoft SQL Server, o sistema lê e pré-processa ficheiros CSV de grande dimensão, recebidas da empresa de comunicações, combina esses dados com bases de dados existentes e apresenta os resultados sobre a forma de cubos multidimensionais. Posteriormente, este trabalho foi integrado num projecto de data minig, usando a metodologia CRISP-DM, tendo sido possível além de apoiar a decisão pretendida identificar situações ineficientes e mesmo de utilização fraudulenta de equipamentos de comunicação. Vários modelos foram construídos e disponibilizados a diferentes decisores para apoiar decisões estratégicas e de controlo.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Business intelligence no suporte a decisões sobre comunicações: descrição de um caso.

O projecto descrito tem o objectivo de apoiar decisões de investimento em infraestruturas de comunicação na Electricidade Dos Açores (EDA), a empresa responsável pela geração, transporte e venda de corrente eléctrica na Região Autónoma dos Açores. A decisão imediata a apoiar consistia em saber se as comunicações entre ilhas deveriam passar para tecnologias Voice over IP (VoIP), um serviço actualmente contratado em regime de outsourcing. Foi estabelecido um projecto de business intelligence, usando tecnologias OLAP do Microsoft SQL Server, para ler e pré-processar os ficheiros CSV de grande dimensão, combinar esses dados com bases de dados existentes e apresentar os resultados sobre a forma de cubos multidimensionais. Posteriormente, implementaram-se igualmente algoritmos de data mining, integrando na metodologia CRISP-DM as duas técnicas utilizadas. Construindo vários modelos foi possível, além de apoiar a decisão pretendida, identificar situações ineficientes e mesmo fraudulentas. Os modelos construídos foram ainda disponibilizados aos decisores estratégicos e de controlo, assim como toda a estrutura de reutilização, manutenção e realimentação que suporta o OLAP e os modelos de data mining.ABSTRACT: This project addresses decisions of investment on communication infrastructures in Electricidade dos Açores (EDA), the local Electric Company in the Azores Islands. The main decision was that EDA communications should be moving to Voice over IP (VoIP) from present telephone lines, outsourced to an external communications company. At the beginning, a business intelligence project was set, with the objective of getting data from the communications company and analyzing it in order to offer useful information to decision makers. The system uses Microsoft SQL server technologies to establish an OnLine Analytical Processing (OLAP) application. It translates big CSV flat files in a ROLAP infrastructure and presents the results as multidimensional data cubes. Latter some data mining models were implemented and both techniques were incorporated in the CRISP-DM process model. Different models identified several inefficient procedures and even fraud situations as long as supporting the investment decision. These models as long as all the technology developed for gathering data, maintain an manage the OLAP cubes and data mining models were made available to control and strategic decision makers