Beliefs and Conflicts in a Real World Multiagent System

In a real world multiagent system, where the agents are faced with partial, incomplete and intrinsically dynamic knowledge, conflicts are inevitable. Frequently, different agents have goals or beliefs that cannot hold simultaneously. Conflict resolution methodologies have to be adopted to overcome such undesirable occurrences. In this paper we investigate the application of distributed belief revision techniques as the support for conflict resolution in the analysis of the validity of the candidate beams to be produced in the CERN particle accelerators. This CERN multiagent system contains a higher hierarchy agent, the Specialist agent, which makes use of meta-knowledge (on how the conflicting beliefs have been produced by the other agents) in order to detect which beliefs should be abandoned. Upon solving a conflict, the Specialist instructs the involved agents to revise their beliefs accordingly. Conflicts in the problem domain are mapped into conflicting beliefs of the distributed belief revision system, where they can be handled by proven formal methods. This technique builds on well established concepts and combines them in a new way to solve important problems. We find this approach generally applicable in several domains

Disruption Management in Airline Operations Control – An Intelligent Agent-Based Approach

Operations control is one of the most important areas for an airline company. Through operations control mechanisms an airline company monitors all the flights checking if they follow the schedule that was previously defined by other areas of the company. Unfortunately, some problems may arise during this stage (Clausen et al., 2005). Those problems can be related with crewmembers, aircrafts and passengers. The Airline Operations Control Centre (AOCC) includes teams of experts specialized in solving the above problems under the supervision of an operation control manager. Each team has a specific goal contributing to the common and general goal of having the airline operation running under as few problems as possible. The process of solving these kinds of problems is known as Disruption Management (Kohl et al., 2004) or Operations Recovery

A fuzzy logic recommendation system to support the design of cloud-edge data analysis in cyber-physical systems

The ongoing 4th industrial revolution is characterized by the digitization of industrial environments, mainly based on the use of Internet of Things, Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Regarding AI, although data analysis has shown to be a key enabler of industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) in the development of smart machines and products, the traditional Cloud-centric solutions are not suitable to attend the data and time-sensitive requirements. Complementary to Cloud, Edge Computing has been adopted to enable the data processing capabilities at or close to the physical components. However, defining which data analysis tasks should be deployed on Cloud and Edge computational layers is not straightforward. This work proposes a framework to guide engineers during the design phase to determine the best way to distribute the data analysis capabilities among computational layers, contributing for a lesser ad-hoc design of distributed data analysis in industrial CPS. Besides defining the guidelines to identify the data analysis requirements, the core contribution relies on a Fuzzy Logic recommendation system for suggesting the most suitable layer to deploy a given data analysis task. The proposed approach is validated in a smart machine testbed that requires the implementation of different data analysis tasks for its operation.This work was supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização de suportes cerâmicos de óxido de titânio para tratamento de efluentes da área nuclear

O crescente desenvolvimento dos processos de separação por membranas (PSM) tem sido justificado por se tratar de uma técnica de separação de fácil operação e que, em geral, não envolve mudança de fase. Os PSM vêm se tornando uma tecnologia cada vez mais importante, com aplicação em diversas áreas para separar, concentrar ou purificar soluções. As membranas cerâmicas apresentam propriedades superiores as poliméricas, principalmente quanto a resistência química a solventes e condições extremas de temperatura e pH. Membranas cerâmicas são compostas por um suporte poroso, responsável pela resistência mecânica e recobertas por uma fina camada filtrante, responsável pela seletividade. Neste trabalho foram preparados suportes a base de óxido de titânio (TiO2), que apresenta alta estabilidade química, térmica, resistência a solventes orgânicos e aplicação em ampla faixa de pH (0-14). Foram preparadas três suspensões aquosas contendo, TiO2 e amido de milho nas concentrações de 0, 15 e 30%, agindo como formador de poros. As suspensões foram secas em Spray-Dryer, para obter uma mistura homogênea e granulada, o suporte foi compactado a pressão de 1,5 Kgfcm-2 na forma de discos cilíndricos de 2,5 cm de diâmetro e sinterizados nas temperaturas de 1100 e 1150°C. Os discos foram pesados e suas dimensões medidas para a determinação da densidade geométrica e porosidade. Testes de permeabilidade hidráulica foram realizados nas pressões de 1 a 4 bar. As condições de 1100°C sem adição de amido e 1150°C com 15% de amido apresentaram porosidades de 42% e 44%, respectivamente, valores próximos do sugerido na literatura, entre 35 – 40%

Potential benefit for production management of a pulp and paper company from using an ft-nir analyzer

The pulp and paper segment has been seeking to increase mill efficiency through cost reduction and better production management. One of the ways to achieve this goal is through better control and operation of the pulp plant digester cooking. The study aimed to verify the accuracy of the FT-NIR analyzer in the liquor lines of a pulp and paper digester and its possible benefits for production management. The research methodology used was the case study, where it was analyzed and compared the results of the equipment with the values of the company's laboratory. The analysis of the instrument proved accurate and reliable, providing information on various properties of liquors that enable the optimization of production management with the stabilization of the operation. Future trends indicate that infrared technology will continue to play an important role as a detection platform due to its inherent flexibility and capability

Nutrology and type 2 diabetes: Nutrient pathophysiology and the transition from health to disease

From a Nutrology point of view, type 2 diabetes is a multi-factorial form of clinical “malnutrition” resulting from the intake of an imbalanced diet in combination with adverse environmental conditions and in the presence of predisposing genetic factors. In this review article, we present evidence of a close association between clinical obesity in a specific genetic background as the pillars of the process underlying the development of type 2 diabetes. We review the basics of the energy balance and the role of fat storage and body distribution in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. We describe some molecular aspects of nutrients under normal physiology and during the metabolic and hormonal abnormalities that accompany type 2 diabetes. We conclude with a brief discussion of the principles behind popular dietary recommendations aimed at preventing the full development of diabetes mellitus and its complications

CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER (CSP) PLANT PROPOSAL FOR BRAZIL

This article seeks the research exercise of technologies of electric power generation by solar concentration (CSP) in the world, intending to choose the one that is most applicable to construction in Brazil. Currently, several energy sources are presented in the Brazilian energy matrix, this research also aims to verify and identify the extent of renewable energies to the national reality. Through these studies, it will be possible to conclude the viability of CSP technologies to Brazil

SYSTEMIC THINKING AND LOGISTIC PLANNING AS AN ORGANIZATIONAL TOOL FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF FEDERAL HIGHWAY SERVICE LEVEL ON CONCESSION

This article aims to show how systemic thinking and logistics planning used as an organizational tool for management can improve services in federal highways. These instruments may contribute to a standardization that leads to changes which might reduce operational costs for highways under concession, benefiting society in a sustainable way. The study shows a perspective on federal highways operational reality about service pattern and operational efficiency. Considering legal references, theoretical and practical compilations, the study shows the needs we could find in these services on highway operation caused by a lack of pattern and standardization of operational service protocols and, in the end, it shows results that may cause possible changes in standardization, pattern and quality management of logistics projects

On the integration of trust with negotiation, argumentation and semantics

Agreement Technologies are needed for autonomous agents to come to mutually acceptable agreements, typically on behalf of humans. These technologies include trust computing, negotiation, argumentation and semantic alignment. In this paper, we identify a number of open questions regarding the integration of computational models and tools for trust computing with negotiation, argumentation and semantic alignment. We consider these questions in general and in the context of applications in open, distributed settings such as the grid and cloud computing. © 2013 Cambridge University Press.This work was partially supported by the Agreement Technology COST action (IC0801). The authors would like to thank for helpful discussions and comments all participants in the panel on >Trust, Argumentation and Semantics> on 16 December 2009, Agia Napa, CyprusPeer Reviewe