Using Flickr to identify and connect tourism Points of Interest: The case of Lisbon, Porto and Faro

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Business AnalyticsUnderstanding the movement of tourists helps not only the management of cities but also to enhance the most attractive places. The growth of people in social media allows us to have greater access to information about user preferences, reviews, and shared moments. Information can be used to study tourist activity. Here, it is used geo-tagged photographs from the social media platform Flickr, to identify the locations of tourists’ Points of Interest in Lisbon, Porto and Faro and quantify their relationship from the user’s co-occurrence in the identified points. The results show that, using standard clustering methods, it is possible to identify likely candidate Points of Interest. The association of the Points of Interest from users’ social media activity (i.e., posting of photos) results in a non-trivial network that breaks geographical proximity. It was found that, in all the cities under study, historical places (such as churches and cathedrals), viewpoints and beaches are captured

PLGA Based Drug Carrier and Pharmaceutical Applications: The Most Recent Advances

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most successful polymers that has been used to produce medicines, such as drug carriers (DC) [...]</jats:p

É possível desvirtuar a participação social na gestão dos recursos hídricos? : análise espacial aplicada ao Comitê de Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Paraguaçu (BA)

O trabalho produziu uma análise espacial do quantitativo de membros representantes do Comitê de Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Paraguaçu (CBHP), Bahia, no período de 2006/2009, e suas implicações para a gestão participativa e dos conflitos em torno dos usos múltiplos dos recursos hídricos. A partir do domicílio de cada representante, foi quantificado o número de representantes no CBHP por município e feita a cartografia desse quantitativo. O resultado revelou a existência de uma superrepresentação no CBHP dos irrigantes do trecho alto da bacia do rio Paraguaçu. A consequência é a hegemonia política de uma região sobre as demais, que configura uma geometria de poder conformada pela existência de pólos concentradores de poder político, que possivelmente expresse polarização econômica. Com base nos resultados, problematiza-se os critérios de composição dos comitês de bacia hidrográfica, baseados na representação por setor de usuários, sem levar em consideração a origem geográfica e a vinculação regional ao território.This paper produced a spatial analysis of the quantitative of representative members of the Water basin Committee of Paraguaçu river (CBHP), Bahia, in the period 2006/2009, and its implication for participatory and conflict management around the multiple uses of water resources. From the home address of each representative in CBHP, it has been quantified the number of representatives per municipalities and it was made the mapping of this quantitative. The result showed the existence of an overrepresentation of irrigators from the upper portion of water basin. The consequence is a political hegemony of one region over the others ones that constitutes a geometry of power conformed by the existence of hubs poles of political power, possibly expressing the economic polarization in the territory. Based on the results, it was discussed the criteria for the composition of the water basin committees, based on representation by users of water resources, regardless of geographic origin and linkage to the regional territory

Trace metals in size-fractionated particulate matter in a Portuguese hospital: exposure risks assessment and comparisons with other countries

Hospitals are considered as a special and important type of indoor public place where air quality has significant impacts on potential health outcomes. Information on indoor air quality of these environments, concerning exposures to particulate matter (PM) and related toxicity, is limited though. This work aims to evaluate risks associated with inhalation exposure to ten toxic metals and chlorine (As, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, Mn, Se, Ba, Al, Si, and Cl) in coarse (PM2.5–10) and fine (PM2.5) particles in a Portuguese hospital in comparison with studies representative of other countries. Samples were collected during 1 month in one urban hospital; elemental PM characterization was determined by proton-induced X-ray emission. Noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were assessed according to the methodology provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA; Region III Risk-Based Concentration Table) for three different age categories of hospital personnel (adults, >20, and 65 years). The estimated noncarcinogenic risks due to occupational inhalation exposure to PM2.5-bound metals ranged from 5.88×10−6 for Se (adults, 55–64 years) to 9.35×10−1 for As (adults, 20–24 years) with total noncarcinogenic risks (sum of all metals) above the safe level for all three age categories. As and Cl (the latter due to its high abundances) were the most important contributors (approximately 90 %) to noncarcinogenic risks. For PM2.5–10, noncarcinogenic risks of all metals were acceptable to all age groups. Concerning carcinogenic risks, for Ni and Pb, they were negligible (<1×10−6) in both PM fractions for all age groups of hospital personnel; potential risks were observed for As and Cr with values in PM2.5 exceeding (up to 62 and 5 times, respectively) USEPA guideline across all age groups; for PM2.5–10, increased excess risks of As and Cr were observed particularly for long-term exposures (adults, 55–64 years). Total carcinogenic risks highly (up to 67 times) exceeded the recommended level for all age groups, thus clearly showing that occupational exposure to metals in fine particles pose significant risks. If the extensive working hours of hospital medical staff were considered, the respective noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were increased, the latter for PM2.5 exceeding the USEPA cumulative guideline of 10−4. For adult patients, the estimated noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were approximately three times higher than for personnel, with particular concerns observed for children and adolescents

RELATIVIZAÇÃO DA COISA JULGADA NO ESTADO DEMOCRÁTICO DE DIREITO: AVANÇO OU RETROCESSO?

A questão da relativização da coisa julgada vem despertando grande interesse entre os operadores do direito e, ao mesmo tempo, exigindo estudo e reflexão dos institutos do Direito Processual no Estado Democrático de Direito. Mas somente após a análise minuciosa de cada questão será possível encontrar o meio processual adequado a ser invocado, diante dos elementos injustiça, inexistência e inconstitucionalidade. Se possível, a relativização da coisa julgada e a inclusão da controvérsia nas hipóteses de ação rescisória enumeradas no art. 485 do Código de Processo Civil. Essa relativização abala o exagero da santificação da decisão final de mérito e exige também esforços conjugados, em que conceitos e teorias se substituem e se renovam. Não raras vezes, a renovação se faz com amparo em antigas concepções repudiadas ou como resposta a elas, demonstrando a importância crescente que os institutos do Direito Processual adquiriram na época contemporânea, embora ainda não tenham chegado ao ápice de seu movimento ascendente