FC Portugal - High-Level Skills Within A Multi-Agent Environment

Ao longo dos anos a RoboCup, uma competição internacional de robótica e da inteligência artificia, foi palco de muitos desenvolvimentos e melhorias nestes duas áreas científicas. Esta competição tem diferentes desafios, incluindo uma liga de simulação 3D (Simulation 3D League). Anualmente, ocorre um torneio de jogos de futebol simulados entre as várias equipas participantes na Simulation 3D League, todas estas equipas deveram ser compostas por 11 robôs humanoides. Esta simulação obedece às leis da física de modo a se aproximar das circunstâncias dos jogos reais. Além disso, as regras da competição são semelhantes às regras originais do futebol com algumas alterações e adaptações. A equipa portuguesa, o FC Portugal 3D é um participante assíduo nos torneios desta liga e chegou até a ser vitoriosa várias vezes nos últimos anos, no entanto, para participar nesta competição é necessário que as equipas tenham os seus agentes capazes de executar skills (ou habilidades) de baixo nível como andar, chutar e levantar-se. O bom registo da equipa FC Portugal 3D advém do facto de os métodos utilizados para treinar os seus jogadores serem continuamente melhorados resultando em melhores habilidades. De facto, considera-se que estes comportamentos de baixo nível estão num ponto em que é possível mudar o foco das implementações para competências de alto nível que deveram ser baseadas nestas competências fundamentais de baixo nível. O futebol pode ser visto como um jogo cooperativo onde jogadores da mesma equipa têm de trabalhar em conjunto para vencer os seus adversários, consequentemente, este jogo é considerado como um bom ambiente para desenvolver, testar e aplicar implementações relativas a cooperações multi-agente. Com isto em mente, o objetivo desta dissertação é construir uma setplay multi-agente baseada nas skills de baixo nível previamente implementadas pela FC Portugal para serem usadas em situações de jogo específicas em que a intenção principal é marcar um golo. Recentemente, muitos participantes da 3D League (incluindo a equipa portuguesa) têm desenvolvido competências utilizando métodos de Deep Reinforcement Learning obtendo resultados satisfatórios num tempo razoável. A abordagem adotada neste projeto foi a de utilizar o algoritmo de Reinforcement Learning, PPO, para treinar todos os ambientes criados com o intuito de desenvolver a setplay pretendida, os resultados dos treinos estão presentes no penúltimo capítulo deste documento seguidos de sugestões para implementações futuras.Throughout the years the RoboCup, an international competition of robotics and artificial intelligence, saw many developments and improvements in these scientific fields. This competition has different types of challenges including a 3D Simulation League that has an annual tournament of simulated soccer games played between several teams each composed of 11 simulated humanoid robots. The simulation obeys the laws of physics in order to approximate the games as much as possible to real circumstances, in addition, the rules are similar to the original soccer rules with a few alterations and adaptations. The Portuguese team, FC Portugal 3D has been an assiduous participant in this league tournaments and was even victorious several times in the past years, nonetheless, to participate in this competition is necessary for teams to have their agents able to execute low-level skills such as walk, kick and get up. The good record of the FC Portugal 3D team comes from the fact that the methods used to train the robots keep being improved, resulting in better skills. As a manner of fact, it is considered that these low-level behaviors are at a point that is possible to shift the implementations' focus to high-level skills based on these fundamental low-level skills. Soccer can be seen as a cooperative game where players from the same team have to work together to beat their opponents, consequently, this game is considered to be a good environment to develop, test, and apply cooperative multi-agent implementations. With this in mind, the objective of this dissertation is to construct a multi-agent setplay based on FC Portugal's low-level skills to be used in certain game situations where the main intent is to score a goal. Recently, many 3D League participants (including the Portuguese team) have been developing skills using Deep Learning methods and obtaining successful results in a reasonable time. The approach taken on this project was to use the Reinforcement Learning algorithm PPO to train all the environments that were created to develop the intended setplay, the results of the training are present in the second-to-last chapter of this document followed by suggestions for future implementations

Sintomas depressivos em idosos institucionalizados

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among institutionalized elderly individuals and to analyze factors associated with this condition. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study involving 462 individuals aged 60 or older, residents in long stay institutions in four Brazilian municipalities. The dependent variable was assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Poisson’s regression was used to evaluate associations with co-variables. We investigated which variables were most relevant in terms of presence of depressive symptoms within the studied context through factor analysis. RESULTS Prevalence of depressive symptoms was 48.7%. The variables associated with depressive symptoms were: regular/bad/very bad self-rated health; comorbidities; hospitalizations; and lack of friends in the institution. Five components accounted for 49.2% of total variance of the sample: functioning, social support, sensory deficiency, institutionalization and health conditions. In the factor analysis, functionality and social support were the components which explained a large part of observed variance. CONCLUSIONS A high prevalence of depressive symptoms, with significant variation in distribution, was observed. Such results emphasize the importance of health conditions and functioning for institutionalized older individuals developing depression. They also point to the importance of providing opportunities for interaction among institutionalized individuals.OBJETIVO Analisar a prevalência de depressão em idosos institucionalizados e os fatores associados. MÉTODOS Estudo seccional com 462 indivíduos de 60 anos ou mais, residentes em instituições de longa permanência em quatro municípios brasileiros. A variável dependente foi avaliada pela Escala de Depressão Geriátrica de 15 itens. Foi efetuada a análise de regressão de Poisson para avaliar associações com as covariáveis. Buscou-se identificar as variáveis mais relevantes para a presença de sintomas depressivos por meio de análise fatorial. RESULTADOS A prevalência de sintomas depressivos foi 48,7%. A saúde autorreferida como regular/ruim/muito ruim, as comorbidades, hospitalizações e a falta de amigos na instituição apresentaram associação com a presença de sintomas depressivos. Foram identificados cinco componentes que, em conjunto, explicaram 49,2% da variância da amostra: funcionalidade, apoio social, deficiência sensorial, institucionalização e condições de saúde. Na análise fatorial, os componentes funcionalidade e apoio social foram os que explicaram grande parte da variância observada. CONCLUSÕES Observou-se alta prevalência de sintomas depressivos, com distribuição heterogênea. Esses resultados reforçam o papel das condições de saúde e da funcionalidade para o desenvolvimento de depressão nos idosos institucionalizados e apontam para a importância de oferecer oportunidades de interação entre os residentes nas instituições de longa permanência

Contribution of novel mr imaging methods to the staging and management of rectal cancer

ABSTRACT: The role of MR imaging in rectal cancer is well established in clinical practice but standard assessment has limitations. This thesis investigates new MR imaging methods and their diagnostic relevance in patient staging and management. It is divided in 2 parts: Part I focuses on lymph node staging and Part II focuses on the patterns of sustained clinical complete response after neoadjuvant therapy in locally-advanced rectal cancer patients. Part I: Pelvic MR imaging is the pillar of rectal cancer staging and the basis for optimal multidisciplinary patient management. A thorough and systematic knowledge of the relevant anatomy, the key staging features and the particularities of early, low and mucinous tumours is mandatory for MR imaging interpretation and is provided as an educational review. Lymph node status is one of the key staging features for risk stratification, but evaluation is hampered by limited MR imaging accuracy. Two new methodologies - Susceptibility Perturbation MR Imaging and Higher-order Diffusion MR Imaging - are introduced as original research. These methods were tested ex-vivo at ultra-high field (16.4 Tesla) in mesorectal lymph nodes and the mechanisms underlying the emerging contrasts were elucidated using quantitative histology. The experiments were then translated in-vivo upon patient staging in a clinical scanner (1.5 Tesla) and confronted with standard visual analysis by specialized radiologists. Part 2: Locally-advanced rectal cancer patients may have no signs of viable tumour after neoadjuvant therapy. “Watch-and-Wait” programs were developed to place such patients under strict surveillance instead of submitting them to likely unnecessary mutilating surgery. MR imaging plays a fundamental role in the selection and follow-up of such patients and an educational review of the methods upon which they rely is provided. To identify a clinical complete response in the early period after neoadjuvant therapy may be less important than to identify a clinical complete response that will be sustained over time, given complete responders that regrow present with a higher rate of distant metastases. Three new imaging patterns were reported for that purpose and are presented as original research – the split scar sign, the tumour scar depth angle difference and the scar thickness at second assessment. Susceptibility Perturbation MR Imaging and Higher-order Diffusion MR Imaging may allow more accurate lymph node staging. As such, they may have the potential to improve risk stratification and patient selection for neoadjuvant therapy. The split scar sign, the scar depth angle difference and the scar thickness at second assessment are simple tools to analyze on post-neoadjuvant therapy MR imaging that may aid in patient selection for “Watch-and-Wait” versus curative resection

MRI of rectal cancer—relevant anatomy and staging key points

Rectal cancer has the eighth highest cancer incidence worldwide, and it is increasing in young individuals. However, in countries with a high human development index, mortality is decreasing, which may reflect better patient management, imaging being key. We rely on imaging to establish the great majority of clinical tumour features for therapeutic decision-making, namely tumour location, depth of invasion, lymph node involvement, circumferential resection margin status and extramural venous invasion. Despite major improvements in technique resulting in better image quality, and notwithstanding the dissemination of guidelines and examples of standardised reports, rectal cancer staging is still challenging on the day-to-day practice, and we believe there are three reasons. First, the normal posterior pelvic compartment anatomy and variants are not common knowledge to radiologists; second, not all rectal cancers fit in review paper models, namely the very early, the very low and the mucinous; and third, the key clinical tumour features may be tricky to analyse. In this review, we discuss the normal anatomy of the rectum and posterior compartment of the pelvis, systematise all rectal cancer staging key points and elaborate on the particularities of early, low and mucinous tumours. We also include our suggested reporting templates and a discussion of its comparison to the reporting templates provided by ESGAR and SAR.publishersversionpublishe

Inovação e competitividade como factores de oportunidade num contexto de crise

Mestrado em EconomiaEste trabalho tem como principais objectivos analisar os conceitos de inovação e competitividade, bem como explorar a sua influência no desempenho do sector vitivinícola português. Para a sua elaboração contribuíram investigações já feitas por autores reconhecidos, o conhecimento adquirido no estágio na José Maria da Fonseca nos EUA, o contacto com pessoas experientes no negócio do vinho e comércio internacional, com os consumidores e as observações pessoais do mercado. A experiência internacional será aqui apresentada, mas o enfoque estará, naturalmente, direccionado ao sector do vinho português e à sua relação com competitividade e inovação. Estando o espectro da crise a revelar-se mais real do que o esperado, as empresas têm enfrentado grandes desafios, e são as que mais valorizam aqueles conceitos, as que vêem uma oportunidade onde outros não o conseguem, que, mais frequentemente, atingem o sucesso. Esta questão vai portanto ser o alvo deste estudo e, para isso, é essencial descrever o sector dos vinhos em Portugal, cujo retrato se torna mais verosímil através da aproximação estatística relativa à produção, consumo, exportação. Para averiguar a posição do sector em relação ao ambiente externo, é também elaborada uma análise swot. Constatar-se-á, após estudo dos conceitos, da sua relação e do seu peso no que toca ao combate à crise, que a inovação e a competitividade são factores de oportunidade, especialmente num tempo de crise. Depois, ligando a teoria à prática, far-se-á a observação do mercado estado-unidense e do crescimento do vinho português nesse mercado. Finalmente, serão abordadas as possíveis estratégias a adoptar para alcançar o sucesso contínuo dos Vinhos de Portugal no mundo.This study aims to analyze the concepts of innovation and competitiveness, and to explore their influence on the portuguese wine sector performance. Investigations of well-known authors, the knowledge acquired during the internship in José Maria da Fonseca (USA), the contact with consumers, with experienced people on the wine business and international trade, and also personal observations of the market were the greatest contributors when drawing-up this work. International experience will be presented but focus will be given to the portuguese wine sector and its relation with competitiveness and innovation. The crisis spectrum turned out to be much more real than expected, companies face major challenges, and the truth is that the ones that value those concepts, the ones that see an opportunity where others can’t, are the ones that most often succeed. This issue will be the target of this study; therefore, it’s essential to describe the portuguese wine sector, which becomes easier to understand through the statistical approach to the production, consumerism and exports. Moreover, in order to determine the sectors’ position regarding the external environment, a swot analysis will be done. After studying the concepts, their relationship and their potential, one can verify that innovation and competitiveness are factors of opportunity, especially in time of crisis. Then, linking theory to practice, observations of the U.S. market and the growth of Portuguese wine in that market will take place. Finally, one may see an approach of the possible strategies to achieve continuous success for the wines of Portugal in the world

Multimorbidity and consultation time: a systematic review

Background Multimorbidity (MM) is one of the major challenges health systems currently face. Management of time length of a medical consultation with a patient with MM is a matter of concern for doctors. Methods A systematic review was performed to describe the impact of MM on the average time of a medical consultation considering the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The systematic online searches of the Embase and PubMed databases were undertaken, from January 2000 to August 2018. The studies were independently screened by two reviewers to decide which ones met the inclusion criteria. (Kappa = 0.84 and Kappa = 0.82). Differing opinions were solved by a third person. This systematic review included people with MM criteria as participants (two or more chronic conditions in the same individual). The type of outcome included was explicitly defined – the length of medical appointments with patients with MM. Any strategies aiming to analyse the impact of MM on the average consultation time were considered. The length of time of medical appointment for patients without MM was the comparator criteria. Experimental and observational studies were included. Results Of 85 articles identified, only 1 observational study was included, showing a clear trend for patients with MM to have longer consultations than patients without MM criteria (p < 0.001). Conclusions More studies are required to better assess allocation length-time for patients with MM and to measure other characteristics like doctors’ workload.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A fruit snack including grape and tomato pomaces: assessment of the effect of temperature on drying characteristics and quality during storage

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modelling and optimization of the processing of a healthy snack bar made of grape and tomato pomaces

A snack made of 36% by-products of grape and tomato pomaces was developed, also including other ingredients such as oats, chia, quinoa, honey, and peanut butter. The recipe was defined as tasty and healthy by a focus group. The snack was produced by using forced air at three different drying temperatures (50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C). The Newton, Page, Henderson & Pabis, and Midil-li-Kucuk models fit the drying curves well. The average values for the Newton’s model drying constants were: k50= 2.71x10-1 ± 3x10-3 min-1; k60= 2. 76x10-1 ± 4x10-3 min-1 and k70= 3.91x10-1 ± 8x10-3 min-1; at 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C, respectively. The product’s quality was assessed over storage, regarding water activity and texture (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness and resilience). The three tested processing temperatures did not influence the final product’s quality differently. Since there are no significant differences between initial and final water activity and texture attributes for any temperature, and they were mainly unaltered over storage, the snack bar was considered stable during this period. This new snack which includes by-products from the food industry reduces food waste and contributes to a circular economy model, simultaneously presenting environmental and economic advantages.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio