Static and cinematic tests of GPS receivers

Os sistemas de navegação global por satélites, em especial o GPS, mais completo e conhecido, tem multiplicado suas aplicações no meio agrícola. O desempenho de receptores, no entanto, não é devidamente conhecido entre os usuários; assim, este trabalho visou avaliar receptores com distintas configurações e o uso de correções diferenciais por meio de ensaios estáticos e cinemáticos; no primeiro caso foram avaliados, concomitantemente, oito receptores ativando ou não as correções diferenciais WAAS e EGNOS, além de sinais privados específicos para alguns desses receptores; também se testaram intensidades de filtragem disponíveis em alguns dos receptores. No ensaio cinemático utilizaram-se dois receptores de navegação fixados sobre a cabine de um trator, tendo como referência um receptor GPS RTK. Na primeira avaliação os resultados mostraram que as correções WAAS e EGNOS não adicionam qualidade ao posicionamento na região de Piracicaba, SP. As correções diferencias privadas via satélite demonstraram ser mais acuradas que os demais sistemas avaliados. O ensaio sob condição cinemática, com GPS RTK de referência, permitiu o cálculo de erros no sentido perpendicular ao percurso, indicando ser de fácil execução.The global navigation satellite systems, especially the GPS, well known and totally implemented, have been intensively used in agriculture. The performance of receivers, however, is not properly disseminated among the users, so the aim of this work is to evaluate receivers with distinct configurations and the use of differential corrections through static and cinematic tests. In the first case eight receivers were tested activating or not the differential corrections WAAS and EGNOS, besides specific augmentation signals for some of the receivers and filtering intensities available for some of the receivers. In the cinematic condition two navigation receivers were mounted on the top of a tractor cab and tested using a GPS RTK receiver as reference. In the first evaluation the results showed that WAAS and EGNOS corrections do not add quality to the positioning in the Piracicaba, SP region. The private differential corrections by satellite were more accurate than the other systems tested. The test under cinematic condition, using a GPS RTK receiver as reference allowed the easy computation of the errors in the perpendicular of travel direction

Adaptation of the medication adherence report scale in a sample of Portuguese type 2 diabetes patients

O presente estudo teve como objectivo adaptar a Escala de Adesão à Medicação (MARS) a uma amostra de diabéticos portugueses tipo 2. Participaram no estudo 387 diabéticos (42% mulheres e 58% homens) diagnosticados com diabetes tipo 2. 57% dos diabéticos tinha sido diagnosticados nos últimos 6 meses e 38% entre 7 e 12 meses no momento da avaliação. O estudo da validade da escala “Medication Adherence Report Scale” revelou uma solução de um factor tal como o instrumento original que explica 52,15% da variância. O alfa de Cronbach foi de .74. Em termos de validade de construto, a adesão à medicação encontrasse relacionada com as representações da doença ao nível das dimensões consequências, controlo pessoal, controlo do tratamento, preocupação e representações emocionais. Finalmente, a relação entre adesão à medicação e as representações da doença foi sensível ao género e idade. O questionário de Adesão à Medicação possui as qualidades psicométricas que permitem o seu uso na população portuguesa com diabetes tipo 2.The goal of the present study was the adaptation of the Medication Adherence Report Scale in a Portuguese sample of type 2 diabetes patients. 387 diabetes patients participated in the study, (42% women and 58% males) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. 57% of the diabetes patients were diagnosed in the previous six months and 38% between 7 and 12 months prior to the assessment. The validation study revealed a one factor solution like the original version that explained 52,15% of the variance. Cronbach alpha was .74. In terms of construct validity, adherence to medication is related to illness representations on several dimensions: consequences, personal control, treatment control, worries, and emotional representations. Finally, the relationship between adherence to medication and illness representations is sensitive to gender and age. The Medication Adherence Report Scale presents the psychometric properties that allow its use in Portuguese type 2 diabetes patients.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Adaptation of trust in physician scale for patients with type 2 diabetes and their partners

Scale numa amostra Portuguesa de diabéticos tipo 2 e seus companheiros. Participaram no estudo 340 diabéticos diagnosticados no ano anterior a avaliação e respectivos companheiros. O estudo da validade revelou dois fatores que explicaram 53,66% da variância total: “Escala de Confiança na Relação” que explica 40,28% da variância e “Escala de Confi ança na Competência” que explica 13,38%, nos diabéticos, e 53,56% da variância total, 41,43% e 12,12% respectivamente. A escala apresenta boa validade convergente estando correlacionada com a adesão à medicação e uma boa validade descriminante em termos de idade e gênero reunindo as condições para ser utilizado em pacientes diabéticos Portugueses e seus companheiros.The present study focused on the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of Trust in Physician Scale (TPS) in a sample of Portuguese type 2 diabetics and their partners. Three hundred and forty diabetics diagnosed in the year prior to the assessment participated in the study as well as their partners. The validity study revealed two factors that explained 53.66% of the total variance: “Trust in Relationship” explains 40.28% of the variance and “Trust in Competence” explains 13.38% of the variance for the diabetics; and for their partners 53.56% of total variance, 41.43% and 12.12%, respectively. The scale shows good convergent validity being correlated with adherence to medication and a good descriminant validity in terms of age and gender validity gathering the necessary conditions for its use with Portuguese diabetic patients and their partnersFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Burden changes in caregivers of patients with type 2 diabetes: A longitudinal study

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore changes in the burden of caregivers of patients with type 2 diabetes experiencing lower limb amputation after surgery.Background: Literature suggests the burden overload experienced by the caregivers of new amputees is related to an imbalance between the demands and the resources available to these caregivers.Design: The study followed a longitudinal design assessing caregiver burden at 1 (T1), 7 (T2) and 10 (T3) months after the patient's surgery.Methods: We used a convenience sample of caregivers of patients with type 2 diabetes amputated with recent lower limb amputation. Data were collected in several hospital units over 18 months in 2014-2015. Sample size included at T1, T2 and T3 110, 101 and 84. Participants completed the socio-demographic questionnaire, the Burden Assessment Scale and the Self-Assessment Caregiver Questionnaire scale.Results: Caregivers who received help reported lower levels of burden from at baseline with no variation over time. Those caregivers with high levels of stress showed an increase in burden over time, although these results were not significant. Also, caregivers who did not receive help showed higher levels of burden and stress over time compared with the initial baseline that decreased over time.Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of receiving help, in care, especially among caregivers who care for patients who have undergone major amputation.This study was supported by a scholarship from the Coordination Foundation for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel/Full Doctoral Program Abroad Financed by CAPES - Brazil (reference number 1010-14

Redes de Petri e VHDL na prototipagem rápida de sistemas digitais

O objectivo principal deste artigo é exemplificar a utilização de uma metodologia de especificação de sistemas digitais, baseada em Redes de Petri orientadas por objectos, para obter de uma forma rápida e simplificada um protótipo em VHDL do sistema pretendido. É considerado para exemplificação um sistema digital, para o qual se efectua a especificação no modelo RdP-shobi e a geração automática de código VHDL. Este exemplo permite concluir acerca da utilidade desta metodologia no projecto de sistemas digitais, suportado por princípios de orientação por objectos e por uma ferramenta de EDA desenvolvida propositadamente para o efeito

Computer analysis of human belligerency

War is a cause of gains and losses. Economic historians have long stressed the extreme importance of considering the economic potential of society for belligerency, the role of management of chaos to bear the costs of battle and casualties, and ingenious and improvisation methodologies for emergency management. However, global and inter-temporal studies on warring are missing. The adoption of computational tools for data processing is a key modeling option with present day resources. In this paper, hierarchical clustering techniques and multidimensional scaling are used as efficient instruments for visualizing and describing military conflicts by electing different metrics to assess their characterizing features: time, time span, number of belligerents, and number of casualties. Moreover, entropy is adopted for measuring war complexity over time. Although wars have been an important topic of analysis in all ages, they have been ignored as a subject of nonlinear dynamics and complex system analysis. This paper seeks to fill these gaps in the literature by proposing a quantitative perspective based on algorithmic strategies. We verify the growing number of events and an explosion in their characteristics. The results have similarities to those exhibited by systems with increasing volatility, or evolving toward chaotic-like behavior. We can question also whether such dynamics follow the second law of thermodynamics since the adopted techniques reflect a system expanding the entropy.publishersversionpublishe

Fractional dynamics and pseudo-phase space of country economic processes

In this paper, the fractional calculus (FC) and pseudo-phase space (PPS) techniques are combined for modeling the dynamics of world economies, leading to a new approach for forecasting a country's gross domestic product. In most market economies, the decline of the post-war prosperity brought challenging rivalries to the Western world. Considerable social, political, and military unrest is today spreading in major capital cities of the world. As global troubles including mass migrations and more abound, countries' performance as told by PPS approaches can help to assess national ambitions, commercial aggression, or hegemony in the current global environment. The 1973 oil shock was the turning point for a long-run crisis. A PPS approach to the last five decades (1970-2018) demonstrates that convergence has been the rule. In a sample of 15 countries, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, and South Africa are catching-up to the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, UK, and France, showing similarity in many respects with these most developed countries. A substitution of the US role as great power in favor of China may still be avoided in the next decades, while India remains in the tail. The embedding of the two mathematical techniques allows a deeper understanding of the fractional dynamics exhibited by the world economies. Additionally, as a byproduct we obtain a foreseeing technique for estimating the future evolution based on the memory of the time series.publishersversionpublishe

On the Numerical Computation of the Mittag-Leffler Function

The Mittag-Leffler function (MLF) plays an important role in many applications of fractional calculus, establishing a connection between exponential and power law behaviors that characterize integer and fractional order phenomena, respectively. Nevertheless, the numerical computation of the MLF poses problems both of accuracy and convergence. In this paper, we study the calculation of the 2-parameter MLF by using polynomial computation and integral formulas. For the particular cases having Laplace transform (LT) the method relies on the inversion of the LT using the fast Fourier transform. Experiments with two other available methods compare also the computational time and accuracy. The 3-parameter MLF and its calculation are also considered.publishe

Flux density distribution of a magnet with axial symmetry to be used in FFC-NMR

Trabalho apresentado em ICSM, International Conference on Superconductivity and Magnetism, 27 de abril - 2 de maio 2014, Istanbul, TurkeyN/