Eficiência energética na cidade: Estratégias para a promoção da capacidade natural de aquecimento e arrefecimento de edifícios

Este estudo apresenta uma técnica para, a partir de um dado índice de construção, encontrar as formas urbanas mais favoráveis ao desempenho térmico de edifícios, com base na absorptância efectiva do edifício no Inverno e no Verão. Esse parâmetro é indicativo da exposição solar do mesmo e da capacidade natural de aquecimento de um edifício quando esse se encontra inserido numa malha urbana. A avaliação da absorptância efectiva para as duas estações do ano permitiu encontrar as formas de organização da malha que beneficiam a acessibilidade solar de Inverno, mas restrigem-na no Verão. Para o cálculo da absorptância efectiva utiliza-se o Método das Matrizes Urbanas que consiste em obter para cada geometria, uma matriz Ψ que descreve a forma como a radiação que incide em cada uma das parcelas que compõem as superfícies do bloco urbano se distribui pelas restantes superfícies. Essa matriz integra os factores de forma entre as superfícies e as respectivas propriedades de absorpção considerando, dessa forma, as reflexões múltiplas que ocorrem no interior do espaço urbano. A aplicação de uma metodologia de optimização a diversas formas urbanas, com base no conceito de algoritmo genético, permitiu concluir que, para as latitudes de 37º e 42º, as malhas urbanas mais favoráveis são os blocos de secção rectangular, com 3 a 5 pisos, dispostos segundo um eixo Este-Oeste por forma a possuirem uma maior fachada exposta a Sul. O espaçamento entre blocos é sempre maximizado na direcção Norte-Sul por forma a permitir, no Inverno, uma maior exposição solar da fachada Sul e, por outro lado, minimizando o espaçamento entre blocos na direcção Este-Oeste, prevenir os excessivos ganhos solares na estação de Verão. Para uma latitude de 37º são ainda soluções blocos de secção quadrangular com 5 a 8 pisos, que formam uma malha com ângulo de ±15º relativamente à direcção dos pontos cardeais

Modeling and Assessing of Omni-Directional Robots with Three and Four Wheels

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A Survey on Long-Range Wide-Area Network Technology Optimizations

Long-Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) enables flexible long-range service communications with low power consumption which is suitable for many IoT applications. The densification of LoRaWAN, which is needed to meet a wide range of IoT networking requirements, poses further challenges. For instance, the deployment of gateways and IoT devices are widely deployed in urban areas, which leads to interference caused by concurrent transmissions on the same channel. In this context, it is crucial to understand aspects such as the coexistence of IoT devices and applications, resource allocation, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, network planning, and mobility support, that directly affect LoRaWAN’s performance.We present a systematic review of state-of-the-art works for LoRaWAN optimization solutions for IoT networking operations. We focus on five aspects that directly affect the performance of LoRaWAN. These specific aspects are directly associated with the challenges of densification of LoRaWAN. Based on the literature analysis, we present a taxonomy covering five aspects related to LoRaWAN optimizations for efficient IoT networks. Finally, we identify key research challenges and open issues in LoRaWAN optimizations for IoT networking operations that must be further studied in the future

Spatio-temporal segregation and size distribution of fish assemblages as related to non-native species occurrence in the middle rio doce valley, MG, Brazil

The lakes in the middle rio Doce Valley (MG) are suffering impacts due to the introduction of invasive fish species, mainly piscivorous species like red piranha Pygocentrus nattereri and peacock bass Cichla kelberi. Fishes were collected in bimonthly samples conducted at ten lakes along a year. The present study showed that the composition of native fish assemblages is significantly related to the presence and type of non-native species. Fish species distribution among lakes can be explained by differences in species body size: smaller native species are less concentrated in lakes with invasive piscivores, which is in accordance with the hypothesis that they have greater susceptibility to predation by invaders. Another probable cause for this correlation is the proximity of lakes to the drainage system, which could explain both the non-native incidence and the turnover of native species composition. Furthermore, temporal variability in species composition was significantly higher in invaded lakes. This last factor may be linked to seasonal flood pulses, which carry immigrant fishes from streams in the vicinity. The metacommunity framework can bring insights for future studies in such spatially structured systems, and the approach should improve our understanding of processes underlying species composition as well as help direct conservation-focused management plans. Copyright © 2011 Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia

Women's refolution at work

The renowned Age of Revolution encompasses the period between the American Revolution (1776) and the so-called Spring of Nations in 1848, this being the height of the revolutionary movements in Europe in the 19th century, though it may be considered just the tip of the iceberg as far as civil rights movements for people from all walks of life are concerned. The changes that occurred throughout this timespan intended to move from feudal and absolutist systems, considered old-fashioned and ill-suited, to constitutionalist states and republics that would be able to heed the new values, e.g. liberalism, nationalism and socialism, as well as the demands of the working classes, enduring the harmful effects of industrialisation. Working people had been flowing into large industrial cities for over a century since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, leaving behind their home places and settling in overcrowded, rundown dwellings in appalling living conditions. The shift from working at home to working in factories brought along a number of issues that would be the motivation for setting up trade unions, namely the long working hours (between 12 and 14 hours per day), the low wages, the cruel discipline and the fierce system of fines that was applied, and the numerous accidents and health issues that ensued. Despite the overall negative conditions, women and children were among those who suffered the most, especially because the former’s wages were regarded as secondary earnings and thus less important than men’s. Consequently, from 1850s onwards, trade unions began to fight for better paid workers and women were initially excluded from these structures be it as members or leaders, being supported by social reformers instead. As a case in point, it is worth mentioning Clementina Black who, in 1888, set forth a demand for equal pay between men and women in the UK and the Bryant and May match factory strike which was held in the same year. Bearing in mind this social and historical context, our aim with this paper is two-fold: not only do we seek to focus on unionist movements in the last half of the 19th century in the European context as a means to fight against conservative and slavery-like practices in the workplace but we also wish to emphasise the place and importance of working-class women in this general workers’ assertion, particularly in their attempt to gain equal pay, a true refolution that would be the motivational beacon for 20th century movements, such as that of the suffragettes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prospective, randomized trial comparing fluids and dobutamine optimization of oxygen delivery in high-risk surgical patients [ISRCTN42445141]

INTRODUCTION: Preventing perioperative tissue oxygen debt contributes to a better postoperative recovery. Whether the beneficial effects of fluids and inotropes during optimization of the oxygen delivery index (DO(2)I) in high-risk patients submitted to major surgeries are due to fluids, to inotropes, or to the combination of the two is not known. We aimed to investigate the effect of DO(2)I optimization with fluids or with fluids and dobutamine on the 60-day hospital mortality and incidence of complications. METHODS: A randomized and controlled trial was performed in 50 high-risk patients (elderly with coexistent pathologies) undergoing major elective surgery. Therapy consisted of pulmonary artery catheter-guided hemodynamic optimization during the operation and 24 hours postoperatively using either fluids alone (n = 25) or fluids and dobutamine (n = 25), aiming to achieve supranormal values (DO(2)I > 600 ml/minute/m(2)). RESULTS: The cardiovascular depression was an important component in the perioperative period in this group of patients. Cardiovascular complications in the postoperative period occurred significantly more frequently in the volume group (13/25, 52%) than in the dobutamine group (4/25, 16%) (relative risk, 3.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.22–8.60; P < 0.05). The 60-day mortality rates were 28% in the volume group and 8% in the dobutamine group (relative risk, 3.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.67–13.46; not significant). CONCLUSION: In patients with high risk of perioperative death, pulmonary artery catheter-guided hemodynamic optimization using dobutamine determines better outcomes, whereas fluids alone increase the incidence of postoperative complications

Evaluating the ability of an artificial-intelligence cloud-based platform designed to provide information prior to locoregional therapy for breast cancer in improving patient's satisfaction with therapy: the CINDERELLA trial

Background: Breast cancer therapy improved significantly, allowing for different surgical approaches for the same disease stage, therefore offering patients different aesthetic outcomes with similar locoregional control. The purpose of the CINDERELLA trial is to evaluate an artificial-intelligence (AI) cloud-based platform (CINDERELLA platform) vs the standard approach for patient education prior to therapy. Methods: A prospective randomized international multicentre trial comparing two methods for patient education prior to therapy. After institutional ethics approval and a written informed consent, patients planned for locoregional treatment will be randomized to the intervention (CINDERELLA platform) or controls. The patients in the intervention arm will use the newly designed web-application (CINDERELLA platform, CINDERELLA APProach) to access the information related to surgery and/or radiotherapy. Using an AI system, the platform will provide the patient with a picture of her own aesthetic outcome resulting from the surgical procedure she chooses, and an objective evaluation of this aesthetic outcome (e.g., good/fair). The control group will have access to the standard approach. The primary objectives of the trial will be i) to examine the differences between the treatment arms with regards to patients' pre-treatment expectations and the final aesthetic outcomes and ii) in the experimental arm only, the agreement of the pre-treatment AI-evaluation (output) and patient's post-therapy self-evaluation. Discussion: The project aims to develop an easy-to-use cost-effective AI-powered tool that improves shared decision-making processes. We assume that the CINDERELLA APProach will lead to higher satisfaction, better psychosocial status, and wellbeing of breast cancer patients, and reduce the need for additional surgeries to improve aesthetic outcome

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors