Study of latencies in ThingSpeak

IoT platforms play an important role on modern measurement systems because they allow the ingestion and processing of huge amounts of data (big data). Given the increasing use of these platforms, it is important to characterize their performance and robustness in real application scenarios. The paper analyzes the ThingSpeak platform by measuring the latencies associated to data packets sent to cloud and replied back, and by checking the consistency of the returned data. Several experiments were done considering different ways to access the platform: REST API, MQTT API, and MQTT broker alone. For each experiment, the methodology is explained, results are presented, and conclusions are extracted. The REST and MQTT APIs have similar performances, with roundtrip times between 1 s and 3 s. The MQTT broker alone is more agile, with roundtrip times below 250 ms. In all cases, the up and down links are far from being symmetric, with the uplink delay showing higher variance than the downlink delay. The obtained results can serve as a reference for other IoT platforms and provide guidelines for application development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Serious game for physical rehabilitation: measuring the effectiveness of virtual and real training environments

Recent advances in low-cost natural user interfaces such as Microsoft Kinect and Leap Motion controller allow the Virtual Reality implementation of 3D serious games for, posture, upper limb and lower limb rehabilitation purposes. However, it is very important to compare the results obtained by the users that train in virtual and real environments. This paper presents a virtual reality serious game for upper limb rehabilitation using a natural user interface expressed by Leap Motion controller. One of the developed virtual reality serious game for rehabilitation is converted to a real scenario with the same elements and rules and the same aims of physical rehabilitation. In order to extract appropriate information from the serious game based on real objects a RFID technology was used together with software components developed in LabVIEW. The evaluation of hand muscles' activity during the training session is based on the usage of thermography that permits to measure in an unobtrusive way the distribution of the temperature on the hands' level. Based on analysis of thermographic images obtained before and after serious game practice, the level of activity of specific muscles associated with training for virtual and real scenario is extracted. Experimental results that are also included in the paper underline the effectiveness of the proposed method for the comparison of the training in virtual and real scenarios.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Tailored virtual reality for smart physiotherapy

Remote sensing and Virtual Reality (VR) are technologies that create new development opportunities in the field of serious games with application in physiotherapy. Thus, during a physiotherapy training session expressed by a game around the remote sensing of user body motion provides measurements that can be used for objective evaluation of physical therapy outcomes. In this work is presented a serious game for physiotherapy characterized by Kinect natural user interface and a set of VR games developed in the Unity3D. To provide patient electronic health record, game remote configuration as well as for data presentation for physiotherapist a mobile application was developed. Additionally, several training results expressed by upper limb, neck and spine angles are included in the paper.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Use of biogenic sulfide for the synthesis of CuS nanocrystals and nanocomposites

During the metabolism of organic matter (CH2O), sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) use sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor, resulting in the production of H2S. This biologically generated sulfide, in the presence of metal ions, can be used for metal precipitation (Bhagat et al., 2004). The use of SRB in bioremediation processes, namely, in the reduction of highcontent sulfate and metal effluents, is well documented (Costa and Duarte, 2005; Garcia et al., 2001). Nevertheless, the process generates an excess of sulfide and the elimination of the sulfide in excess and disposal of the metal sulfides produced are also problems that need to be carefully addressed. Copper monosulfide (CuS) has gained considerable attention in material science due to its excellent potential in catalysis (Mallick et al., 2007), optical functionality (Liz-Marzan, 2006) and electronic functionalities (Kamat, 2002)

A geografia física como instrumento para a melhoria da qualidade de vida de comunidades rurais da região do jaguaribe-ce.

A geografia física como instrumento para a melhoria da qualidade de vida de comunidades rurais da região do jaguaribe-ce

Sistema de criação de caprinos em unidades agrícolas familiares.

Instalações; Suplementação mineral; Fornecimento de água; Manejo alimentar; Manejo reprodutivo; Descarte orientado; Comercialização de animais; Manejo sanitário Fitoerapia - Outra forma alternativa para o controle da verminose; Evolução dos rebanhos caprinos nos sistesmas modelo e satélites.bitstream/item/36201/1/Doc85.pd

Optical Studies in Red/NIR Persistent Luminescent Cr‐Doped Zinc Gallogermanate (ZGGO:Cr)

Zn1+xGa2‐2xGexO4 (ZGGO:Cr)‐persistent phosphor, with a molar fraction, x, of x = 0.1, doped with a 0.5% molar of chromium, was synthesised via solid‐state reaction at 1350 °C for 36 h. X‐ray diffraction measurements and Raman spectroscopy evidence a single crystalline phase corresponding to the cubic spinel structure. Room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) and afterglow decay profiles were investigated using above and below bandgap excitation. In both cases, persistent PL was observed for almost 8 h, mainly originating from a Cr3+ defect, the so‐called N2 optical centre. RT PL excitation and diffuse reflectance allow identification of the best pathways of Cr3+ red/NIR emission, as well as estimation of the ZGGO bandgap energy at 4.82 eV. An in‐depth investigation of the observed luminescence at 15 K and temperature‐dependent PL under site‐selective excitation reveals the spectral complexity of the presence of several optically active Cr3+ centres in the ZGGO host that emit in almost the same spectral region. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the R‐lines’ intensity indicates the existence of thermal populating processes between the different optical centres. Such observations well account for a wide distribution of defect trap levels available for carrier capture/release, as measured by the persistent luminescence decay, from which the carriers are released preferentially to the N2 Cr3+‐related optical centre.publishersversionpublishe

Valor nutritivo do farelo de coco em ovinos: balanço energético e de nitrogênio.

Com o objetivo de avaliar o valor nutritivo do farelo de coco (Cocus nucifera) foi determinado o balanço energético e o balanço nitrogenado em borregos deslanados alojados em gaiolas metabólicas providas de separadores de fezes e urina recebendo feno de tifton-85 e níveis crescentes de farelo de coco nos níveis de zero, oito, 17 e 25% de farelo de coco com base na matéria natural, em um esquema inteiramente ao acaso com quatro tratamentos (nível de farelo de coco) e seis repetições (borregos) por tratamento perfazendo um total de 24 observações, empregando o método SNK a 5% de probabilidade para comparação das médias. Não houve efeito do nível de inclusão do farelo de coco sobre consumo e balanço de energia e sobre o consumo e balanço de nitrogênio, todos os níveis de inclusão dem farelo de coco tiveram balanço energético positivo no caso do balanço de nitrogênio todas as dietas tiveram balanço positivo com excessão da dieta com 25% de inclusão de farelo de coco. Concluiu-se que a inclusão de farelo de coco em até 25% teve efeito negativo sobre o consumo de energia, sem alcançar valores que prejudicariam o desempenho dos animais e que 25% de farelo de coco prejudicou o balanço protéico dos animais

Evaluation of two detection methods of microorganisms in platelet concentrates

SUMMARY Background: The performance of a bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was evaluated and validated with an automated culture system to determine its use for screening of platelet concentrates (PCs). Study Design and Methods: PCs were spiked with suspensions of Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus epidermidis and St. aureus at 1, 10, and 100 colony-forming units (CFUs) mL and stored for 5 days. DNA amplification was performed using realtime PCR. The BacT/ALERT was used as a reference method and samples were inoculated into an aerobic culture bottle; for the PCR assay, aliquots were drawn from all (spiked) PCs on days 0 to 5 of storage. Results: Real-time PCR detected only the grampositive bacteria in PCs spiked with low bacterial titres (1 CFU mL) after 48 h; however, it was able to detec