Data-driven disaster management in a smart city

Disasters, both natural and man-made, are extreme and complex events with consequences that translate into a loss of life and/or destruction of properties. The advances in IT and Big Data analysis represent an opportunity for the development of resilient environments once the application of analytical methods allows extracting information from a significant amount of data, optimizing the decision-making processes. This research aims to apply the CRISP-DM methodology to extract information about incidents that occurred in the city of Lisbon with emphasis on occurrences that affected buildings, constituting a tool to assist in the management of the city. Through this research, it was verified that there are temporal and spatial patterns of occurrences that affected the city of Lisbon, with some types of occurrences having a higher incidence in certain periods of the year, such as floods and collapses that occur when there are high levels of precipitation. On the other hand, it was verified that the downtown area of the city is the area most affected by occurrences. Finally, machine learning models were applied to the data and the predictive model Random Forest obtained the best result with an accuracy of 58%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Data fusion and visualization towards city disaster management: Lisbon case study

INTRODUCTION: Due to the high level of unpredictability and the complexity of the information requirements, disaster management operations are information demanding. Emergency response planners should organize response operations efficiently and assign rescue teams to particular catastrophe areas with a high possibility of surviving. Making decisions becomes more difficult when the information provided is heterogeneous, out of date, and often fragmented. OBJECTIVES: In this research work a data fusion of different information sources and a data visualization process was applied to provide a big picture about the disruptive events in a city. This high-level knowledge is important for emergency management authorities. This holistic process for managing, processing, and analysing the seven Vs (Volume, Velocity, Variety, Variability, Veracity, Visualization, and Value) in order to generate actionable insights for disaster management. METHODS: A CRISP-DM methodology over smart city-data was applied. The fusion approach was introduced to merge different data sources. RESULTS: A set of visual tools in dashboards were produced to support the city municipality management process. Visualization of big picture based on different data available is the proposed work. CONCLUSION: Through this research, it was verified that there are temporal and spatial patterns of occurrences that affected the city of Lisbon, with some types of occurrences having a higher incidence in certain periods of the year, such as floods and collapses that occur when there are high levels of precipitation. On the other hand, it was verified that the downtown area of the city is the most affected area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The biochemistry and regulation of S100A10: a multifunctional plasminogen receptor involved in oncogenesis

The plasminogen receptors mediate the production and localization to the cell surface of the broad spectrum proteinase, plasmin. S100A10 is a key regulator of cellular plasmin production and may account for as much as 50% of cellular plasmin generation. In parallel to plasminogen, the plasminogen-binding site on S100A10 is highly conserved from mammals to fish. S100A10 is constitutively expressed in many cells and is also induced by many diverse factors and physiological stimuli including dexamethasone, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, nerve growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor, retinoic acid, and thrombin. Therefore, S100A10 is utilized by cells to regulate plasmin proteolytic activity in response to a wide diversity of physiological stimuli. The expression of the oncogenes, PML-RAR alpha and KRas, also stimulates the levels of S100A10, suggesting a role for S100A10 in pathophysiological processes such as in the oncogenic-mediated increases in plasmin production. The S100A10-null mouse model system has established the critical role that S100A10 plays as a regulator of fibrinolysis and oncogenesis. S100A10 plays two major roles in oncogenesis, first as a regulator of cancer cell invasion and metastasis and secondly as a regulator of the recruitment of tumor-associated cells, such as macrophages, to the tumor site.Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Foundation for Science and Technology of Portuga

Alcoóis lineares em solos arqueológicos da Amazônia.

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Especificidades das Prácticas de Gestão de Recursos Humanos no sector hoteleiro em Portugal

A maior exigência dos clientes associada à instabilidade económica, faz com que o sector hoteleiro viva actualmente grandes desafios. Neste artigo caracteriza-se o sector hoteleiro em Portugal. Na primeira parte descreve-se a estrutura empresarial e realiza-se uma caracterização quantitativa dos recursos humanos. Na segunda, apresentamos uma descrição geral das práticas de gestão de recursos humanos (GRH). Os resultados revelam um sector baseado em mão de obra intensiva, maioritariamente representado por mulheres e com um baixo nível de qualificações. Apenas nas empresas de maior dimensão se verifica alguma preocupação e investimento nas práticas de GRH. A necessidade de aumentar o nível de qualificações dos recursos humanos deverá levar os responsáveis pela gestão a procurar colaboradores com as qualificações e competências necessárias para responder às novas exigências do sector

Empenhamento organizacional: controvérsia e resultados da investigação

O artigo realiza uma síntese dos estudos sobre o empenhamento organizacional, relevando as suas consequências quer para os indivíduos, quer para as organizações, os factores que o influenciam e as controvérsias ainda existentes sobre a sua natureza. A falta de consenso sobre a natureza e as dimensões do empenhamento organizacional, tem levado os autores a debruçarem-se sobre esta questão que cada vez mais tem assumido um papel de relevo na explicação dos diversos tipos de relações que se estabelecem entre indivíduos e organizações. Este tema tem-se revelado de grande interesse na comunidade académica e científica pois acredita-se que trabalhadores empenhados tornam-se uma vantagem competitiva para as organizações. Mas, as novas formas de trabalho com que se depara esta nova geração de trabalhadores, fazem com que as organizações tenham que repensar novas estratégias para manter empenhada esta nova força de trabalho

Analytic Plane Wave Solutions for the Quaternionic Potential Step

By using the recent mathematical tools developed in quaternionic differential operator theory, we solve the Schroedinger equation in presence of a quaternionic step potential. The analytic solution for the stationary states allows to explicitly show the qualitative and quantitative differences between this quaternionic quantum dynamical system and its complex counterpart. A brief discussion on reflected and transmitted times, performed by using the stationary phase method, and its implication on the experimental evidence for deviations of standard quantum mechanics is also presented. The analytic solution given in this paper represents a fundamental mathematical tool to find an analytic approximation to the quaternionic barrier problem (up to now solved by numerical method).Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

Dosimetric effect by shallow air cavities in high energy electron beams

This study evaluates the dosimetric impact caused by an air cavity located at 2 mm depth from the top surface in a PMMA phantom irradiated by electron beams produced by a Siemens Primus linear accelerator. A systematic evaluation of the effect related to the cavity area and thickness as well as to the electron beam energy was performed by using Monte Carlo simulations (EGSnrc code), Pencil Beam algorithm and Gafchromic EBT2 films. A home-PMMA phantom with the same geometry as the simulated one was specifically constructed for the measurements. Our results indicate that the presence of the cavity causes an increase (up to 70%) of the dose maximum value as well as a shift forward of the position of the depthedose curve, compared to the homogeneous one. Pronounced dose discontinuities in the regions close to the lateral cavity edges are observed. The shape and magnitude of these discontinuities change with the dimension of the cavity. It is also found that the cavity effect is more pronounced (6%) for the 12 MeV electron beam and the presence of cavities with large thickness and small area introduces more significant variations (up to 70%) on the depthedose curves. Overall, the Gafchromic EBT2 film measurements were found in agreement within 3% with Monte Carlo calculations and predict well the fine details of the dosimetric change near the cavity interface. The Pencil Beam calculations underestimate the dose up to 40% compared to Monte Carlo simulations; in particular for the largest cavity thickness (2.8 cm)

Análise quantitativa da incorporação de resíduos gerados em estações de tratamento de água à matriz de cerâmica vermelha

Um dos problemas associados aos impactos ambientais causados pelo tratamento de água para consumo humano é o resíduo gerado nas Estações de Tratamento de Água (ETAs). Com objetivo de pesquisar proposta para o descarte aliado a uma destinação correta e ambientalmente segura aos resíduos gerados nas unidades de decantação das ETAs Nova e Belmonte, situadas em Barra Mansa e Volta Redonda, cidades do Médio Vale do Paraíba do Sul, será apresentado um modelo que visa estimar a produção dos resíduos para estudar a viabilidade quantitativa para o reaproveitamento desse resíduo como matéria prima para a produção de cerâmica vermelha, uma alternativa atraente, já que, em geral, os resíduos provenientes das ETAs, comumente denominados de lodos, apresentam características similares à argila e xistos, principais matérias primas para a confecção de tijolos, além da atratividade da região pela grande produção desse material. A escolha da melhor equação para o cálculo de quantificação é baseada nos dados obtidos junto às empresas responsáveis pelas estações, sendo utilizados dados operacionais e parâmetros de monitoramento do Rio Paraíba do Sul, manancial das duas estações. Com a estimativa da produção mensal é diagnosticado que, apesar da variação de produção nas diferentes estações do ano, tem-se valores representativos que confirmam a viabilidade quantitativa e a necessidade de um correto gerenciamento deste resíduo, de modo que ele possa ser destinado ao processo produtivo de cerâmica vermelha, aumentando a vida útil da jazida de argila proporcionado pela redução da extração mineral e proporcionando uma destinação benéfica a um resíduo sólido