Learning to Race through Coordinate Descent Bayesian Optimisation

In the automation of many kinds of processes, the observable outcome can often be described as the combined effect of an entire sequence of actions, or controls, applied throughout its execution. In these cases, strategies to optimise control policies for individual stages of the process might not be applicable, and instead the whole policy might have to be optimised at once. On the other hand, the cost to evaluate the policy's performance might also be high, being desirable that a solution can be found with as few interactions as possible with the real system. We consider the problem of optimising control policies to allow a robot to complete a given race track within a minimum amount of time. We assume that the robot has no prior information about the track or its own dynamical model, just an initial valid driving example. Localisation is only applied to monitor the robot and to provide an indication of its position along the track's centre axis. We propose a method for finding a policy that minimises the time per lap while keeping the vehicle on the track using a Bayesian optimisation (BO) approach over a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. We apply an algorithm to search more efficiently over high-dimensional policy-parameter spaces with BO, by iterating over each dimension individually, in a sequential coordinate descent-like scheme. Experiments demonstrate the performance of the algorithm against other methods in a simulated car racing environment.Comment: Accepted as conference paper for the 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA

Estudo de necessidades de cuidados de pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade, proposta de intervenção dos cuidados de enfermagem de reabilitação

Descrever necessidades de cuidados de pessoas com 65 e mais anos de idade ao nível dos cuidados de enfermagem de reabilitação

The Conservative Physiology of the Immune System. A Non-Metaphoric Approach to Immunological Activity

Historically, immunology emerged as a biomedical science, concerned with host defense and production of anti-infectious vaccines. In the late 50s, selective theories were proposed and from then on, immunology has been based in a close association with the neo-Darwinian principles, such as random generation of variants (lymphocyte clones), selection by extrinsic factors (antigens)—and, more generally, on genetic determinism and functionalism. This association has had major consequences: (1) immunological jargon is full of “cognitive” metaphors, founded in the idea of “foreignness”; (2) the immune system is described with a random clonal origin, coupled to selection by random encounters; and (3) physiological events are virtually absent from immunological descriptions. In the present manuscript, we apply systemic notions to bring forth an explanation including systemic mechanisms able to generate immunological phenomena. We replace “randomness plus selection” and the notion of foreignness by a history of structural changes which are determined by the coherences of the system internal architecture at any given moment. The importance of this systemic way of seeing is that it explicitly attends to the organization that defines the immune system, within which it is possible to describe the conservative physiology of the immune system. Understanding immune physiology in a systemic way of seeing also suggests mechanisms underlying the origin of immunopathogeny and therefore suggests new insights to therapeutic approaches. However, if seriously acknowledged, this systemic/historic approach to immunology goes along with a global conceptual change which modifies virtually everything in the domain of biology, as suggested by Maturana

Phylogenetic analysis and genetic diversity of the xylariaceous ascomycete Biscogniauxia mediterranea from cork oak forests in different bioclimates

Cork oak is a tree species with ecological importance that contributes to economic and social development in the Mediterranean region. Cork oak decline is a major concern for forest sustainability and has negative impacts on cork oak growth and production. This event has been increasingly reported in the last decades and seems to be related with climate changes. Biscogniauxia mediterranea is an endophytic fungus of healthy cork oak trees that turns into a pathogen in trees weaken by environmental stress. Understanding the drivers of B. mediterranea populations diversity and differentiation is expected to allow a better control of cork oak decline and preserve forest sustainability. Endophyte isolates from different cork oak forests were identified as B. mediterranea and their genetic diversity was evaluated using phylogenetic and microsatellite-primed PCR analyses. Genetic diversity and variability of this fungus was correlated with environmental/phytosanitary conditions present in forests/trees from which isolates were collected. High genetic diversity and variability was found in B. mediterranea populations obtained from different forests, suggesting some degree of isolation by distance. Bioclimate was the most significant effect that explained the genetic variability of B. mediterranea, rather than precipitation or temperature intensities alone or disease symptoms. These findings bring new implications for the changing climate to cork oak forests sustainability, cork production and quality.This work was supported by FEDER funds through COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade) and by national funds by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028635, as well as for financial support to BioISI (UIDB/04046/2020), CBMA (UIDB/04050/2020), and CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2020) by national funds by FCT/MCTES/PIDDAC. D. Costa thanks FCT for PhD grant SFRH/BD/120516/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The impact of breeding Yellow-Legged Gulls on vegetation cover and plant composition of Grey Dune habitats

The establishment of large populations of yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis in coastal and urban areas can lead to strong changes in vegetation cover and composition through creating physical disturbance in the vegetation and impacting the soil quality through defecation. In this study, we evaluated the effects of breeding yellow-legged gull populations on tall and short vegetation cover and plant species composition in old (occupied for 13 years) and new (occupied for 3 years) colony sites in grey dunes of the Algarve, southern Portugal. In each site, sampling plots were used to measure the percentage of vegetation cover in areas with and without breeding gulls. In the old colony site, the cover by tall vegetation was substantially reduced and the cover by short vegetation substantially increased in the areas where gulls are breeding in comparison with the adjacent areas. In the new colony sites, there were only minor differences. The increase in cover of short vegetation in the breeding area of the old colony site was mostly by nitrophilous species (Paronychia argentea and Malcolmia littorea) and should be explained by the decrease in vegetation cover of tall plant species and by feces deposition. Tall and slow-growing species Suaeda maritima and Helichrysum italicum covers were negatively affected. Our results showed that yellow-legged gulls affected vegetation cover and composition of grey dunes after 3 years of consecutive breeding, and this should be considered in the management of these habitats where breeding yellow-legged gulls are increasing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chironomidae (Diptera: Insecta) da ilha de Santa Maria

XIV Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Santa Maria 2009.O presente trabalho surge no âmbito da Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores à ilha de Santa Maria, durante a qual foram amostrados diversos ambientes aquáticos para o estudo da sua biodiversidade. O trabalho realizado possibilitou a actualização da lista de espécies de Chironomidae para a ilha de Santa Maria, tendo sido encontrados quatro novos registos para esta ilha

Impact of atmospherical stability and intra-hour variation of meteorological data in the variability of building air change rates

In contrast with structural engineering, where the focus for design is on extreme values, for the proper assessment and modelling of air change rates in natural ventilation and infiltration, one must use the full range of input variables. Most of the modelling in infiltration research relies on hourly datasets for air infiltration balance. This consideration overlooks the intra-hour variability on meteorological variables. Additionally, it is customary to assume unchanging neutral atmospheric conditions when modelling, which affects the calculated airflows. This work intends to detail and quantify these effects in a case study representative of an average single-family dwelling in a Southern European climate setup. By comparing four setups with an increasing degree of complexity, a median of 0.04 h(-1) of the hourly standard deviations in air change rates (ACH) is attributed to the time step effect. Approximately 43% of the occurrences experienced non-neutral atmospheric stability, skewing for stable conditions. This effect contributed to differences in the ACHs ranging from-0.202 to 0.131 h(-1) at the 5% and 95% quantiles. Overall, by using hourly uniform distributions and smart sampling of meteorological variables, one ensures that the values in between and others potentially occurring around the boundaries are being considered for air change rates calculation, and therefore providing a more detailed picture of actual conditions.This work was financially supported by: Base Funding -UIDB/04708/2020 and Programmatic Funding - UIDP/04708/2020 of the CONSTRUCT -Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Construcoes - funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). The author would like to acknowledge the support of FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, the funding of the Doctoral Grant PD/BD/135162/2017, through the Doctoral Programme EcoCoRe.The authors also acknowledge Dr. Ricardo Deus and the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, I. P. (IPMA, IP) for providing the meteorological dataset for this work

In-situ and laboratory airtightness tests of structural insulated panels (SIPs) assemblies

One of the main factors influencing building airtightness is the construction typology. As building environmental performance requirements raise so does the prevalence of less conventional envelope construction systems as modular structural insulated panels (SIPs) buildings. In this paper, the airtightness performance of a constructive solution based on SIPs was evaluated. Airtightness tests were performed on the laboratory according to the EN 12114-2000 methodology. One complete exterior wall assembly and another one with the inclusion of a window were tested to determine their performance as an effective air barrier. The impact of the window framing in the overall resistance to air leakage was also determined. Additionally, the airtightness of a dwelling using these SIPs was measured during the construction phase and after commissioning. The objective was not only the assessment of the ACH50 difference between the two stages, but also the comparison with  previously tested conventional envelopes on the same climate. Laboratory and field test data resulted in mismatching values. Workmanship and unforeseen leakage paths were found to be the main contributors to these findings. Moreover, the case study displayed a superior airtightness performance when compared to heavy type construction solutions, common amongst the Portuguese building stock. Additional work is needed to identify and quantify envelope airpaths in order to properly design lightweight buildings solutions. FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, the funding of the Doctoral Grant PD/BD/135162/2017, through the Doctoral Programme EcoCoRe. This paper is a result of the project “H0ME ZERO”, with the reference POCI -01-0247-FEDER-017840, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement HOME This work was financially supported by : Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007457 -CONSTRUCT -Institute of R&D In Structures and Construction funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE 2020 -Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização POCI – and by national funds through - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aging effect on the integrity of the traditional portuguese timber roof structures

Traditional buildings basically include natural and autochthonous construction materials and are built with sustainable construction techniques. The knowledge of these materials’s state and construction techniques is required for a proper conservation/renovation work. It is well known that the lack of maintenance is one of the main causes that contribute to the high degree of degradation that the Portuguese traditional buildings unfortunately have. That degradation may even compromise the overall structural integrity of the building thus reducing its lifetime`s expectation. Meanwhile, a partial or even full demolition of a building is still an often occurrence in the Portuguese context. From a sustainable and building heritage perspectives that practise may be inadequate. Taking into account that generally the degradation problems are linked with roof`s leaking anomalies and that the structural components of the roof tend to be the first ones to be affected, this timber structural roof components of Portuguese dwellings were the object of the research work here presented

Reliability of quantitative and qualitative assessment of air leakage paths through reductive sealing

A full characterization of a building air leakage is labour intensive. As results of laboratory and mock-up experimentation rarely portray in situ conditions, the assessment of real case studies bring added value. Still, the results of experimentation of the latter face more challenges than the former. In this work a full quantitative and qualitative assessment of air leakage paths is performed, using a light steel framing (LSP) modular building with structural insulated panels (Sips) as case study. Blower-door measurements undergo for a sealing campaign of eleven steps, a technique often described as reductive sealing. Additionally, smoke tracer measurements were carried out to visually identify the air leakage locations. The application of three regression methods resulted in different uncertainty estimates. Less than 7% of the total air leakage was not attributed to one of the considered types of air leakage paths. Assessing less impacting leakage paths first and placing similar types of air leakage paths in a consecutive sealing order seems to be the most correct strategy when using the reductive sealing technique. On average, at a reference pressure difference of 4 Pa, the sealing step uncertainty averaged, 9.9%, 18.8%, and 27.5%, depending on the method used for regression of the blower door test results. Despite the highest calculated uncertainty, literature shows that the application of the method leading to it, Weighted Line of Organic Correlation (WLOC), provides the results in closer agreement with the observed uncertainty of measurements.- This work was financially supported by: Base Funding - UIDB/04708/2020 and Programmatic Funding - UIDP/04708/2020 of the CONSTRUCT-Instituto de 1&0 em Estruturas e Construcoes - funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). The author would like to acknowledge the support of FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, the funding of the Doctoral Grant PD/BDIl35162/2017, through the Doctoral Programme EcoCoRe