IoT in the Support of Marketing Actions. Case study: Porto City Park

This study aims to understand how large databases generated from IoT systems can be used for Marketing and Organizational Management purposes. Through this research work, an attempt was made to highlight the importance of understanding the advantages of using data from an IoT system, especially regarding user behavior and developing well-segmented strategies, which will later translate into competitive advantages. In this work, it was made the study of a case, of a smart counter solution provided by Wavecom, implemented in Porto City Park, capable of sending real-time readings about the occupation of a given space. The theoretical contextualization of this study was based on exploratory research of relevant bibliographic works. In a statement, this work added value to fill gaps in the areas of the themes under study, offering a deeper understanding of the correlation between the large amounts of data generated by IoT systems and their use in Marketing

A Reference-Free Lossless Compression Algorithm for DNA Sequences Using a Competitive Prediction of Two Classes of Weighted Models

The development of efficient data compressors for DNA sequences is crucial not only for reducing the storage and the bandwidth for transmission, but also for analysis purposes. In particular, the development of improved compression models directly influences the outcome of anthropological and biomedical compression-based methods. In this paper, we describe a new lossless compressor with improved compression capabilities for DNA sequences representing different domains and kingdoms. The reference-free method uses a competitive prediction model to estimate, for each symbol, the best class of models to be used before applying arithmetic encoding. There are two classes of models: weighted context models (including substitutional tolerant context models) and weighted stochastic repeat models. Both classes of models use specific sub-programs to handle inverted repeats efficiently. The results show that the proposed method attains a higher compression ratio than state-of-the-art approaches, on a balanced and diverse benchmark, using a competitive level of computational resources. An efficient implementation of the method is publicly available, under the GPLv3 license.Peer reviewe

Stiffness and strength-based lightweight design of truss structures using multi-material topology optimization

Authors wish also to thank Professor Krister Svanberg (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden) for the MMA optimization code. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 9th International Conference on Computational Methods for Coupled Problems in Science and Engineering, COUPLED PROBLEMS 2021. All rights reserved.Stiffness and strength are important structural design criteria. However, most contributions to Topology Optimization (TO) deal with the compliance minimization problem. Controlling stresses in a structure is very important to avoid material failure, but that raises complications in TO, such as: nonlinearity, singularity and high computational cost. The total weight of a structure is also another important criterion in optimal design. The multi-material setting is considered in the present work as it opens the possibility to improve structural performance even further allowing extra weight reduction. Recursive SIMP is used as the material interpolation scheme and design solutions are sought using the ground structure approach. This means that truss-like (lattice) designs are obtained here. The problem is relaxed to the continuum by introducing an artificial density variable and it is solved by a gradientbased algorithm (MMA). A stress-constraint relaxation technique (qp-approach) is applied to overcome the stress singularity phenomenon. A continuation approach is used to guarantee discrete solutions, i.e., only the presence or absence of bars is identified. Therefore, design uniformity in terms of bars cross section areas is ensured. Hence, this work proposes a methodology to perform Multi-Material Topology Optimization (MMTO) of truss structures, with density-based design variables, and subject to stress constraints. To discuss the differences between stiffness and strength-oriented optimal designs, a compliance minimization problem subject to mass constraint is also considered. The example chosen demonstrates the viability of the proposed design methodology and it also reveals differences between the strongest and the stiffest designs.authorsversionpublishe

XS: a FASTQ read simulator

The emerging next-generation sequencing (NGS) is bringing, besides the natural huge amounts of data, an avalanche of new specialized tools (for analysis, compression, alignment, among others) and large public and private network infrastructures. Therefore, a direct necessity of specific simulation tools for testing and benchmarking is rising, such as a flexible and portable FASTQ read simulator, without the need of a reference sequence, yet correctly prepared for producing approximately the same characteristics as real data

Mitochondrial DNA Variants in a Portuguese Population of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder associated with dementia in late adulthood. Mitochondrial respiratory chain impairment has been detected in the brain, muscle, fibroblasts and platelets of AD patients, indicating a possible involvement of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the etiology of the disease. Several reports have identified mtDNA mutations in AD patients, but there is no consensual opinion regarding the cause of the impairment. We have studied mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 nucleotides 3337-3340, searching for mutations. Our study group included 129 AD patients and 125 healthy age-matched controls. We have found alterations in two AD patients: one had two already known mtDNA modifications (3197 T-C and 3338 T-C) and the other a novel transition (3199 T-C) which, to our knowledge, has not been described before

Fatigue detection through physiological assessment during real-life occupational situations: Preliminary results

Background: Fatigue is a significant health and safety-related problem among workers. In general, it decreases performance and physical strength, causing incidents and accidents in operational situations. During military activities, soldiers often encounter severe conditions, which combined lead to fatigue manifestations affecting their health and performance. Continuous monitoring of their overall health status would prevent its adverse effects. Objective: This work aimed to present the preliminary results of a retrospective assessment of military training physiological recordings using an alert-based fatigue detection algorithm to validate its accurate functioning. Methods: Three case studies from soldiers participating in military training tests were recruited for evaluation. The referred algorithm was developed to manage fatigue through the combined assessment of physiological variables and determine different fatigue levels warnings to advisetimely interventions and prevent potential health impact. Each examined case included the continuous recording of heart rate, breathing rate and core temperature. The algorithm translated physiological sensory data into minute alarms according to fatigue levels determined through the conjunction of normative and related research criteria. Results and Discussion: Outcomes revealed that the algorithm could evidence the different stages of training and the resulting physical demands on soldiers using their physiological response throughout the exercises. Retrieved fatigue alarms showed the high physiological cost of military practices and helped to overview the impact of each training period. Finally, results also demonstrated the importance of individual and contextualised assessment for accurately characterise the subject's fatigue status. Conclusions: It is concluded that the developed decision model can improve the management of real-time fatigue, allowing early detection of potential indicators of further physical impairments. Furthermore, it can lead to the enhancement of work-rest cycles, not only for tactical personnel but also for any safety-sensitive occupation. For future work, its validity will be tested through more participants, and other variableswill be added to improve its accuracy.</jats:p

Identification of a novel deletion in SURF1 gene: Heterogeneity in Leigh syndrome with COX deficiency

Leigh syndrome (LS) is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative mitochondrial disorder of infancy. It is a genetically heterogeneous disease. The mutations in SURF1 gene are the most frequently known cause. Here two cases of LS likely caused by SURF1 gene variants are reported: a 39-year-old male patient with a novel homozygous deletion (c.-11_13del), and a case of a 6-year-old boy with the same deletion and a nonsense mutation (c.868dupT), both in heterozygosity. Blue native PAGE showed absence of assembled complex IV. This is the first report of a variant that may abolish the SURF1 gene initiation codon in two LS patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in Huntington's disease human cybrids

We investigated the involvement of mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in Huntington's disease (HD) vs. control (CTR) cybrids, obtained from the fusion of human platelets with mitochondrial DNA-depleted NT2 cells, and further exposed to 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) or staurosporine (STS). Untreated HD cybrids did not exhibit significant modifications in the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I-IV or in mtDNA sequence variations suggestive of a primary role in mitochondrial susceptibility in the subpopulation of HD carriers studied. However, a slight decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and increased formation of intracellular hydroperoxides was observed in HD cybrids under basal conditions. Furthermore, apoptotic nuclei morphology and a moderate increase in caspase-3 activation, as well as increased levels of superoxide ions and hydroperoxides were observed in HD cybrids upon 3-NP or STS treatment. 3-NP-evoked apoptosis in HD cybrids involved cytochrome c and AIF release from mitochondria, which was associated with mitochondrial Bax translocation. CTR cybrids subjected to 3-NP showed increased mitochondrial Bax and Bim levels and the release of AIF, but not cytochrome c, suggesting a different mode of cell death, linked to the loss of membrane integrity. Additionally, increased mitochondrial Bim and Bak levels, and a slight release of cytochrome c in untreated HD cybrids may help to explain their moderate susceptibility to mitochondrial-dependent apoptosi

Fibrogenesis in Kidney Transplant: Dysfunction Progress Biomarkers

Fibrogenesis markers, such as alpha-actin (AA), CD163 (macrophages), and E-cadherin, have been studied as chronic kidney allograft injury (CAI) predictors, a major cause of allograft failure. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the value of these markers in predicting CAI and initiation of dialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 26 kidney allograft biopsies (from 22 patients with CAI) during 2 years, evaluating intensity and percentage of marked cells on glomeruli and tubulointerstitial compartment. At the time of the biopsy, patients were 45.5 ± 15.8 years and 4.2 years after transplant, and they had a mean glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 25.8 ± 9.9 mL/min. From an average of 8.5 glomeruli per biopsy, there was ≤25% sclerosis in 17 cases, 26% to 50% in 5, and >50% in 4. Interstitial fibrosis or tubular atrophy affected ≤25% of cortical area in 14 cases, 26% to 50% in 8, and >50% in 2. Twelve patients started dialysis 5.8 ± 4.7 years after transplant, with an average GFR 20.9 mL/min at the time of the biopsy. RESULTS: There was a higher intensity and percentage of CD163-marked cells in the tubulointerstitial compartment in advanced interstitial fibrosis. We found an association between intensity of AA in the tubulointerstitial compartment and initiation of dialysis (P = .003) and a negative correlation between intensity of E-cadherin loss and GFR (r = -0.56, P = .012). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, intensity of tubulointerstitial AA was shown to be a predictor of initiation of dialysis, and E-cadherin loss intensity was associated to CAI progression. However, prospective and larger studies are needed to evaluate the predictive value of these markers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio