A texture segmentation prototype for industrial inspection applications based on fuzzy grammar

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a set of techniques, in the domain of texture analysis, dedicated to the classification of industrial textures. One of the main purposes was to deal with a high diversity of textures, including structural and highly random patterns. Design/methodology/approach – The global system includes a texture segmentation phase and a classification phase. The approach for image texture segmentation is based on features extracted from wavelets transform, fuzzy spectrum and interaction maps. The classification architecture uses a fuzzy grammar inference system. Findings – The classifier uses the aggregation of features from the several segmentation techniques, resulting in high flexibility concerning the diversity of industrial textures. The resulted system allows on-line learning of new textures. This approach avoids the need for a global re-learning of the all textures each time a new texture is presented to the system. Practical implications – These achievements demonstrate the practical value of the system, as it can be applied to different industrial sectors for quality control operations. Originality/value – The global approach was integrated in a cork vision system, leading to an industrial prototype that has already been tested. Similarly, it was tested in a textile machine, for a specific fabric inspection, and gave results that corroborate the diversity of possible applications. The segmentation procedure reveals good performance that is indicated by high classification rates, revealing good perspectives for full industrialization

Team-Based Learning in Chemistry Courses with Laboratory Sessions

[EN] The implementation of Team-Based Learning (TBL, http://www.teambasedlearning.org) in one-semester undergraduate courses of chemistry offered to first year students is reported. TBL is an active learning instructional strategy heavily relying on small group interaction. Teaching lab classes in a TBL context presented a specific challenge, as decisions were required about their role in the global framework and the possibility of incorporating lab activities as “teamwork”. The design of lab sessions as TBL team application activities is here also illustrated, both for a course of General Chemistry and a course of Organic Chemistry. TBL dramatically improved students class attendance and participation. Its implementation has provided a unique opportunity for the pedagogical development of teaching staff. A moderate number of students reported discomfort with TBL: the requirement of individual preparation before classes and the impact of team participation in the final grade is indeed a new ground for most students, often perceived as a troubling deviation from the common social paradigm of the learning process. The role of the instructor as a facilitator of individual and team work, and the clear explanation of the method are thus of utmost relevance.The authors thank Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) for financial supportAires-De-Sousa, J.; Cardoso, MM.; Ferreira, L.; Lima, J.; Noronha, J.; Nunes, A.; Ponte, M. (2017). Team-Based Learning in Chemistry Courses with Laboratory Sessions. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1213-1218. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.5559OCS1213121

Corruption and Co-Movements in European Listed Sport Companies: Did Calciocaos really matter?

This paper analyses whether the Calciocaos, which involved some Italian listed sport companies, impacted on the performance of the Dow Jones Stoxx Football index and if this was spread through shock propagation. The Calciocaos impact is assessed by using a cointegrated vector autoregression model. The results provide evidence of the occurrence of spreading mechanisms of the effects originated by the corruption episode. After this episode Juventus’ stock and Sporting’s stock have particular importance in determining the performance of the Dow Jones Stoxx Football index. The investors/supporters of la Vecchia Signora revealed sentimental behaviour, and did not sell their participations

Corruption and Co-Movements in European Listed Sport Companies: Did Calciocaos really matter?

This paper analyses whether the Calciocaos, which involved some Italian listed sport companies, impacted on the performance of the Dow Jones Stoxx Football index and if this was spread through shock propagation. The Calciocaos impact is assessed by using a cointegrated vector autoregression model. The results provide evidence of the occurrence of spreading mechanisms of the effects originated by the corruption episode. After this episode Juventus’ stock and Sporting’s stock have particular importance in determining the performance of the Dow Jones Stoxx Football index. The investors/supporters of la Vecchia Signora revealed sentimental behaviour, and did not sell their participations

Breakdown of universality in three-dimensional Dirac semimetals with random impurities

Dirac-Weyl semimetals are unique three-dimensional (3D) phases of matter with gapless electrons and novel electrodynamic properties believed to be robust against weak perturbations. Here, we unveil the crucial influence of the disorder statistics and impurity diversity in the stability of incompressible electrons in 3D semimetals. Focusing on the critical role played by rare impurity configurations, we show that the abundance of low-energy resonances in the presence of diluted random potential wells endows rare localized zero-energy modes with statistical significance, thus lifting the nodal density of states. The strong nonperturbative effect here reported converts the 3D Dirac-Weyl semimetal into a compressible metal even at the lowest impurity densities. Our analytical results are validated by high-resolution real-space simulations in record-large 3D lattices with up to 536 000 000 orbitals

A risk assessment methodology to evaluate the risk failure of managed aquifer recharge in the Mediterranean Basin

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) can be affected by many risks. Those risks are related to different technical and non-technical aspects of recharge, like water availability, water quality, legislation, social issues, etc. Many other works have acknowledged risks of this nature theoretically; however, their quantification and definition has not been developed. In this study, the risk definition and quantification has been performed by means of "fault trees" and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). We defined a fault tree with 65 basic events applicable to the operation phase. After that, we have applied this methodology to six different managed aquifer recharge sites located in the Mediterranean Basin (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, and Israel). The probabilities of the basic events were defined by expert criteria, based on the knowledge of the different managers of the facilities. From that, we conclude that in all sites, the perception of the expert criteria of the non-technical aspects were as much or even more important than the technical aspects. Regarding the risk results, we observe that the total risk in three of the six sites was equal to or above 0.90. That would mean that the MAR facilities have a risk of failure equal to or higher than 90¿% in the period of 2–6 years. The other three sites presented lower risks (75, 29, and 18¿% for Malta, Menashe, and Serchio, respectively). Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) can be affected by many risks. Those risks are related to different technical and non-technical aspects of recharge, like water availability, water quality, legislation, social issues, etc. Many other works have acknowledged risks of this nature theoretically; however, their quantification and definition has not been developed. In this study, the risk definition and quantification has been performed by means of "fault trees" and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). We defined a fault tree with 65 basic events applicable to the operation phase. After that, we have applied this methodology to six different managed aquifer recharge sites located in the Mediterranean Basin (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, and Israel). The probabilities of the basic events were defined by expert criteria, based on the knowledge of the different managers of the facilities. From that, we conclude that in all sites, the perception of the expert criteria of the non-technical aspects were as much or even more important than the technical aspects. Regarding the risk results, we observe that the total risk in three of the six sites was equal to or above 0.90. That would mean that the MAR facilities have a risk of failure equal to or higher than 90 % in the period of 2–6 years. The other three sites presented lower risks (75, 29, and 18 % for Malta, Menashe, and Serchio, respectively)

The effects of death and post-mortem cold ischemia on human tissue transcriptomes

Post-mortem tissues samples are a key resource for investigating patterns of gene expression. However, the processes triggered by death and the post-mortem interval (PMI) can significantly alter physiologically normal RNA levels. We investigate the impact of PMI on gene expression using data from multiple tissues of post-mortem donors obtained from the GTEx project. We find that many genes change expression over relatively short PMIs in a tissue-specific manner, but this potentially confounding effect in a biological analysis can be minimized by taking into account appropriate covariates. By comparing ante- and post-mortem blood samples, we identify the cascade of transcriptional events triggered by death of the organism. These events do not appear to simply reflect stochastic variation resulting from mRNA degradation, but active and ongoing regulation of transcription. Finally, we develop a model to predict the time since death from the analysis of the transcriptome of a few readily accessible tissues.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of exercise on physical and mental health, and cognitive and brain functions in schizophrenia: clinical and experimental evidence

Exercise promotes several health benefits, such as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory improvements. It is believed that the practice of exercise in individuals with psychiatric disorders, e.g. schizophrenia, can cause significant changes. Schizophrenic patients have problematic lifestyle habits compared with general population; this may cause a high mortality rate, mainly caused by cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate changes in physical and mental health, cognitive and brain functioning due to the practice of exercise in patients with schizophrenia. Although still little is known about the benefits of exercise on mental health, cognitive and brain functioning of schizophrenic patients, exercise training has been shown to be a beneficial intervention in the control and reduction of disease severity. Type of training, form of execution, duration and intensity need to be better studied as the effects on physical and mental health, cognition and brain activity depend exclusively of interconnected factors, such as the combination of exercise and medication. However, one should understand that exercise is not only an effective nondrug alternative, but also acts as a supporting linking up interventions to promote improvements in process performance optimization. In general, the positive effects on mental health, cognition and brain activity as a result of an exercise program are quite evident. Few studies have been published correlating effects of exercise in patients with schizophrenia, but there is increasing evidence that positive and negative symptoms can be improved. Therefore, it is important that further studies be undertaken to expand the knowledge of physical exercise on mental health in people with schizophrenia, as well as its dose-response and the most effective type of exercise