Predictive long-term asset maintenance strategy: development of a fuzzy logic condition-based control system

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceTechnology has accelerated the growth of the Facility Management industry and its roles are broadening to encompass more responsibilities and skill sets. FM budgets and teams are becoming larger and more impactful as new technological trends are incorporated into data-driven strategies. This new scenario has motivated institutions such as the European Central Bank to initiate projects aimed at optimising the use of data to improve the monitoring, control and preservation of the assets that enable the continuity of the Bank's activities. Such projects make it possible to reduce costs, plan, manage and allocate resources, reinforce the control, and efficiency of safety and operational systems. To support the long-term maintenance strategy being developed by the Technical Facility Management section of the ECB, this thesis proposes a model to calculate the Left wear margin of the equipment. This is accomplished through the development of an algorithm based on a fuzzy logic system that uses Python language and presents the system's structure, its reliability, feasibility, potential, and limitations. For Facility Management, this project constitutes a cornerstone of the ongoing digital transformation program

Barriers and incentives to territory-based innovation processes: from technology to interaction among actors

The context of territory-based innovation processes includes both barriers and incentives. This chapter presents and discusses the research and findings of a study conducted with two sets of five community-led initiatives, one composed of small-sized initiatives and another composed of larger-sized initiatives, with a view to identify barriers and incentives to territory-based innovation. Following a mixed-coding approach, data was analysed to identify barriers and incentives to territory-based innovation prompted by the use of digital tools, by the interaction among actors, and by contextual factors. Results from both small- and larger-sized initiatives show significant technology weariness, still initiatives praise the effectiveness of some digital tools, namely social media, in reaching their audience. Both types of initiatives, especially small-sized ones, evidence disappointment towards cultural traits and bureaucracy, being these factors experienced as a disheartening barrier. Yet, initiatives also commend the know-how and flexibility of specific actors, e.g. civil parishes, with whom initiatives interact with closely when performing their day-to-day activities.publishe

Developing a digital platform for community-led initiatives: from local agents′ needs to interface design

To identify how digital media are being used by community-led initiatives of the Centro Region of Portugal, and to identify the requirements that a digital platform for mediation between agents in the territory should have, two focus groups were conducted, involving six small-sized community-led initiatives and six larger-sized community-led initiatives. This article details the results of these focus groups, according to the following main categories: use of existing communication and mediation tools; the purpose of use of digital tools; type of experiences prompted by digital tools and attributes and features desired in a digital platform to support community-led initiatives. The results show differences between the use and needs of digital tools by small- and larger-sized initiatives and offer interesting insights to prototype an innovative digital solution, to enhance the actions of community-led initiatives. A reference framework for digital mediation strategies and a mobile app prototype were developed, based on these surveys. The article contributes with an analytical view about the development of digital solutions, which aim to strengthen the relationship among agents of local communities and promote mediation mechanisms among all stakeholders in territorial-based innovation.Programa Operacional Regional do Centro (CENTRO 2020), PT2020publishe

Uncovering novel plasma membrane carboxylate transporters in the yeast Cyberlindnera jadinii

The yeast Cyberlindnera jadinii has great potential in the biotechnology industry due to its ability to produce a variety of compounds of interest, including carboxylic acids. In this work, we identified genes encoding carboxylate transporters from this yeast species. The functional characterization of sixteen plasma membrane carboxylate transporters belonging to the AceTr, SHS, TDT, MCT, SSS, and DASS families was performed by heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The newly identified C. jadinii transporters present specificity for mono-, di-, and tricarboxylates. The transporters CjAto5, CjJen6, CjSlc5, and CjSlc13-1 display the broadest substrate specificity; CjAto2 accepts mono- and dicarboxylates; and CjAto1,3,4, CjJen1-5, CjSlc16, and CjSlc13-2 are specific for monocarboxylic acids. A detailed characterization of these transporters, including phylogenetic reconstruction, 3D structure prediction, and molecular docking analysis is presented here. The properties presented by these transporters make them interesting targets to be explored as organic acid exporters in microbial cell factories.This study was supported by the strategic program UID/BIA/04050/2019, funded by Portuguese funds through the FCT I.P.; the projects PTDC/BIAMIC/5184/2014, funded by national funds through the FCT I.P.; and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE 2020–Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and EcoAgriFood: Innovative green products and processes to promote AgriFood BioEconomy (operação NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000009), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). M.S.S. acknowledges the Norte2020 for the UMINHO/BD/25/2016 PhD grant with the reference NORTE-08–5369-FSE-000060, and J.A. acknowledges the FCT for the PD/BD/150584/2020 PhD grant. PS acknowledges FCT for contract CEECINST/0007772018. I.S-S. was supported by the program contract FCT-UMINHO/Norma transitória from the Legal Regime of Scientific Employment (RJEC)

Questionário de Eficácia Negocial de Conflitos na Escola (QENCE): validação de um instrumento para a construção de Paz nas escolas

Esta investigação teve como objetivo construir e validar o Questionário de Eficácia Negocial de Conflitos na Escola (QENCE). Foram utilizadas duas amostras de alunos do 3.º CEB e do Ensino Secundário de duas escolas públicas urbanas do Porto, uma com 622 alunos e outra com 505, esta última para confirmar a validação. Os resultados das amostras revelam valores de alfa de Cronbach de .84 e .87, respetivamente. Os dados sugerem a adequabilidade e a validade do QENCE para avaliar o construto em estudo. Considera-se relevante dar continuidade aos estudos psicométricos da escala.Esta investigação teve como objetivo construir e validar o Questionário de Eficácia Negocial de Conflitos na Escola (QENCE). Foram utilizadas duas amostras de alunos do 3.º CEB e do Ensino Secundário de duas escolas públicas urbanas do Porto, uma com 622 alunos e outra com 505, esta última para confirmar a validação. Os resultados das amostras revelam valores de alfa de Cronbach de .84 e .87, respetivamente. Os dados sugerem a adequabilidade e a validade do QENCE para avaliar o construto em estudo. Considera-se relevante dar continuidade aos estudos psicométricos da escala. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Validação de escala; eficácia negocial; conflitos escolares

Project, development and test of an artificial multifunctional foot

The main purpose of this project is the development of a multifunctional artificial foot, capable of duplicate a human foot in a laboratory environment, in order to evaluate and simulate footwear’s performance under certain conditions. This foot is used as a laboratory prototype and is multisegmented, in order that each section is controlled independently in terms of heat generation and sweating rate, therefore it is possible to simulate more accurately the real behaviour of a human foot. The device produces thermal insulation values that will help to design footwear with better ability in terms of thermal comfort, replacing human volunteers in thermal comfort perception tests, which are very subjective. The prototype was already tested, and preliminary results indicated that thermal insulation values are within the range of expected values produced by other foot thermal manikins and by human volunteers’ tests. This fact suggests that this lab prototype can be used in future thermal comfort evaluations.This project was supported by FCT (the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) and CTCP (Fo otwear Technology Centre of Portugal) because of its poten tial interest and added value to the footwear industry, which is one of the most profitable business areas in Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Digital mediation for territorial innovation: a multiple case study in social media

As redes sociais digitais são espaços infocomunicacionais contemporâneos que estão a influenciar o desenvolvimento social e económico dos territórios. No entanto, o papel das redes sociais digitais nos processos de inovação territorial de base comunitária ainda não foi suficientemente explorado, carecendo de aprofundamento dada a escassez de estudos científicos e de publicações sobre este tema. Neste artigo procura-se contribuir para a compreensão do papel das redes sociais digitais na promoção de cenários efetivos de inovação territorial nas áreas do Turismo e da Saúde e Bem-estar. Neste sentido, realizou-se um benchmarking do uso das redes sociais (Facebook, Twitter e Youtube) de iniciativas locais, na tentativa de identificar exemplos de boas práticas de utilização destas redes para a dinamização de projetos de inovação territorial. Embora as redes sociais selecionadas se distingam pelo número de seguidores e tenham diferentes níveis de envolvimento e colaboração entre os utilizadores, pudemos observar, neste levantamento de dados, os principais fatores motivadores para a participação das iniciativas estudadas. Pese embora a especificidade dos casos estudados, considera-se que o estudo apresenta um contributo para construir uma visão mais analítica sobre as práticas de gestão das redes sociais; os resultados alcançados poderão ser utilizados para extrair recomendações para a consolidação efetiva de estratégias que visam a promoção da capacidade de iniciativa das comunidades locais.Digital social networks are contemporary info-communicational spaces, which are influencing the social and economic development of the territories. Still, the role of digital social networks in the process of community-led territorial innovation has not yet been sufficiently investigated. The scarcity of scientific studies and publications on this subject warrants further investigation. This article contributes to the understanding of the role of digital social networks in the promotion of effective scenarios of territorial innovation in the areas of Tourism and of Health and Well-being. In this sense, a benchmarking of the use of social networks (Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube) of local initiatives was carried out to identify examples of good practices in the use of social networks to stimulate territorial innovation projects. Despite the different number of followers and distinct levels of engagement and collaboration among users, it was possible, through this data collection, to observe the main drivers for participation in the initiatives studied. Regardless of the specificity of the cases studied, this study contributes to the development of a more analytical view on social networks management practices; the results achieved can be used to draw recommendations for the effective consolidation of strategies aimed at promoting the power of initiative of local communities.publishe