User-interface technologies for the industrial environment: towards the cyber-factory

In the past few years the so-called gadgets like cellular phones, personal data assistants and digital cameras are more widespread even with less technological aware users. However, for several reasons, the factory-floor itself seems to be hermetic to this changes ... After the fieldbus revolution, the factory-floor has seen an increased use of more and more powerful programmable logic controllers and user interfaces but the way they are used remains almost the same. We believe that new user-computer interaction techniques including multimedia and augmented rcaliry combined with now affordable technologies like wearable computers and wireless networks can change the way the factory personal works together with the roachines and the information system on the factory-floor. This new age is already starting with innovative uses of communication networks on the factory-floor either using "standard" networks or enhancing industrial networks with multimedia and wireless capabilities

Bio-valorização de resíduos de Cryptomeria japonica por obtenção do óleo essencial e de extratos orgânicos e determinação das suas propriedades biológicas

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ambiente, Saúde e Segurança, 05 de fevereiro de 2019, Universidade dos Açores.Na presente tese foram avaliadas, pela primeira vez, algumas propriedades biológicas (moluscicida contra Radix peregra, toxicidade em Artemia salina, bactericidas, fungicidas e antioxidantes) do óleo essencial (OE) e de extratos orgânicos obtidos da ramada de Criptomeria japonica oriunda de São Miguel (Açores, Portugal), de modo a contribuir para a valorização da biomassa florestal açoriana. O OE foi extraído por dois processos de destilação diferentes, hidrodestilação (OE-hd) e arraste de vapor (OE-av), e os extratos orgânicos foram obtidos por extração por Soxhlet, usando sequencialmente solventes de polaridade crescente (hexano, diclorometano e metanol), e por maceração a frio com acetona. Todos os extratos apresentaram duas fases físicas diferentes, pelo que foram fracionados, obtendo-se assim 8 amostras de extratos. Relativamente à atividade moluscicida sobre R. peregra, um caracol de água doce europeu e hospedeiro intermediário de Fasciola hepatica (agente causador da fasciolose), os OEs e extratos foram testados a dose única contra adultos, juvenis e ovos. As amostras OE-hd, OE-av e extrato de acetona-fração sólida (Acet-s) demonstraram ser fortemente ativas contra os juvenis e os ovos à concentração de 30 ppm e contra os adultos à concentração de 100 ppm. Subsequentemente, os parâmetros tempo e dose dependentes foram avaliados nos adultos para determinar os valores letais (DL₅₀;₉₀ e TL₅₀;₉₀). As DL50 obtidas variaram de 33,3 a 64,71 ppm, com o OE-av exibindo a atividade moluscicida mais significativa. Relativamente ao ensaio tempo-dependente, o OE-av, o OE-hd e o Acet-s foram os tratamentos mais eficazes quando testados em exposição contínua (TL₅₀ a 100 ppm = 20,8, 21,8 e 24,1 h, respetivamente). No respeitante ao ensaio em A. salina, as DL50 obtidas variaram de 97,7 a 344,5 ppm, com o OE-av exibindo a maior toxicidade. A atividade antimicrobiana foi determinada contra as bactérias Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, Micrococcus luteus e Bacillus subtilus e contra o fungo Penicillium spp.. De entre os tratamentos realizados, apenas o OE-av apresentou atividade antimicrobiana contra todos os micróbios (halos de inibição entre 7 a 21 mm), sendo que apenas os OEs apresentaram atividade antifúngica. Relativamente às propriedades antioxidantes, os extratos de acetonafração sólida (Acet-s), metanol-fração resinosa (MeOH-r) e diclorometano-fração resinosa (Dcm-r) foram os que apresentaram maior teor de polifenóis totais (TPT) com 85,3, 84,4 e 83,6 mg de equivalentes de ácido gálico (EAG)/g amostra seca, respetivamente, e capacidade de sequestrar o radical 2,2-difenil-1-picrilhidrazilo (DPPH) com EC₅₀ de 0,17, 0,18 e 0,18 mg EAG/g amostra seca, respetivamente. Quanto à capacidade protetora do ADN contra os danos causados pelos radicais hidroxilo, o OE-hd e todos os extratos (à excepção do extrato acetona-fração oleosa) demonstraram possuir uma boa atividade antioxidante. O presente estudo revela o potencial de C. japonica como fonte natural de moléculas biomoluscicidas, antimicrobianas e antioxidantes, com potenciais aplicações nas indústrias farmacêutica, alimentar, agroquímica e de cosméticos.ABSTRACT: In the present thesis, some biological properties (molluscicide against Radix peregra, toxicity in Artemia salina, antibacterial, fungicide and antioxidant) of the essential oil (EO) and of organic extracts obtained from Criptomeria japonica leaves and stems from São Miguel (Azores, Portugal), in order to contribute to the valorization of Azorean forest biomass. The EO was extracted by two different distillation processes, hydrodistillation (EO-hd) and steam-distillation (EO-sd), and the organic extracts were obtained by Soxhlet extraction, sequentially using increasing polarity solventes (hexane, dichloromethane and methanol), and by cold maceration with acetone. All the extracts presented two different physical phases, reason why they were fractionated, thus obtaining 8 samples of extracts. Regarding the molluscicidal activity on R. peregra, an European freshwater snail and a susceptible intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica (the causing agent of fascioliasis), the EOs and extracts were first screened through a single-dose assay against adults, juveniles and eggs. EO-hd, EO-sd and acetone-solid fraction (Acet-s) were highly active towards juveniles and eggs at 30 ppm and adults at 100 ppm. Subsequently, time and dose-dependent parameters were evaluated on adults snails in order to determine lethal values (LC₅₀;₉₀ and LT₅₀;₉₀). The obtained LC₅₀ varied from 33.3 to 64.71 ppm, with the EO-av exhibiting the most significant molluscicidal activity. For the time-dependent assay, OE-av, OE-hd and Acet-s were the most effective treatments when tested under continuous exposure (TL50 at 100 ppm = 20.8, 21.8 and 24.1 h, respectively). EO-sd, EO-hd and Acet-s were the most time-effective treatments when assessed by by contínuos exposure (LT₅₀ at 100 ppm = 20.8, 21.8 and 24.1 h, respectively). Regarding the brine shrimp lethality assay with A. salina, the LC50 obtained ranged from 97.7 to 344.5 ppm, with the EO-sd exhibiting the highest toxicity. Antimicrobial activity was determined against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus subtilus and against the fungus Penicillium spp.. Of the treatments tested, only EOsd showed antimicrobial activity against all microbes (inhibition halos varied from 7 to 21 mm), whereas only the EOs presented antifungal activity. Regarding antioxidant properties, the acetone-solid fraction (Acet-s), the methanol-resinous fraction (MeOH-r) and the dichloromethane-resinous fraction (Dcm-r) were the extracts who exibited higher total polyphenols content (TPT) with 85.3, 84.4 and 83.6 mg gallic acid equivalente GAE/g dry sample, respectively, and higher scavenging capacity of the radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) with EC₅₀ of 0.17, 0.18 e 0.18 mg GAE/g dry sample, respectively. EO-hd and extracts (except aceton-oil fraction), showed to have good DNA protecting ability against damage caused by hidroxyl radicals. The present study uncovers the potential of C. japonica as a natural source of biomolluscicidal, antimicrobial and antioxidant molecules, with potential applications in the pharmaceutical, food, agrochemical and cosmetic industries

REMPLI discreet event simulation results

This document makes a brief review on the results of the REMPLI Discreet Event Simulation system used to test the REMPLI Transport Layer. An introduction on the REMPLI Discreet Event Simulation system is made on HURRAY-TR-070903

Social Media Integration in Video Games: A Social Overlay for Desktop Games

Simpósio de Informática (INForum 2015), Covilhã, Portugal. Notes: Best paper award nominee.The ever increasing popularity of social media makes them a promising source for the personalization of gameplay experiences. Furthermore, involving social network friends in a game can greatly enrich the satisfaction of the player and also attract potential novel players to a game. This paper describes a social overlay designed for desktop games. It allows players to easily capture and share on multiple social networks screenshots, videos and even game-related stories. Unlike most social sharing systems our social overlay is designed to interact with the user in a non-intrusive way allowing him/her to be in complete control of what is shared. Our goal is to make players look and ask for social integration. The development of this social overlay will allow players to take full advantage of their social communities to improve their gaming experience

A survey of techniques and technologies for web-based real-time interactive rendering

When exploring a virtual environment, realism depends mainly on two factors: realistic images and real-time feedback (motions, behaviour etc.). In this context, photo realism and physical validity of computer generated images required by emerging applications, such as advanced e-commerce, still impose major challenges in the area of rendering research whereas the complexity of lighting phenomena further requires powerful and predictable computing if time constraints must be attained. In this technical report we address the state-of-the-art on rendering, trying to put the focus on approaches, techniques and technologies that might enable real-time interactive web-based clientserver rendering systems. The focus is on the end-systems and not the networking technologies used to interconnect client(s) and server(s).Siemens; Bertelsmann mediaSystems GmbH; Eptron Multimedia; Instituto Politécnico do Porto - ISEP-IPP; Institute Laboratory for Mixed Realities at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, LMR; Mälardalen Real-Time Research Centre (MRTC) at Mälardalen University in Västerås; Q-Systems

The Management of logistics activities in the furniture sector - cost control with application of time driven activity based costing model

The furniture sector in Portugal is predominantly composed of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (SME'S). Its internationalisation process has been continuous and growing. However, to be viable, SMEs need to compete with international and large companies which benefit from economies of scale. Thus, SME's must create a competitive advantage in quality, differentiated furniture design, and customised services. In this context, the management of value chain activities gains extreme importance. This research work focuses on the logistics activities in the furniture sector. It aims to analyse the management practices of Portuguese SMEs regarding customer service in logistics and propose a framework for to cost calculation of customer service activities in logistics. Using an approach based on the Delphi methodology, we consulted a panel of experts in the furniture sector to develop a questionnaire to identify logistics activities in the furniture business. Then the questionnaire was applied to SMEs operating in the furniture sector. Despite the small number of participants, the results indicate that firms are aware of the importance of cost management of logistics for their competitiveness, they have the necessary data to calculate their costs, and Time Drive Activity Based Costing can be a suitable solution for costs calculation, once it can perform an accurate cost division per each stage of the transport workflow and determine the total cost of the operation with high precision, based on the type of transportation and selected incoterm negotiated with clients

Biological and technical advances in therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, 2020, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia.A Esclerose Lateral Amiotrófica (ELA) é uma doença neurodegenerativa fatal, caracterizada pela perda de neurónios motores e atrofia muscular progressiva. A ELA pode ser classificada em familiar (10% dos casos) se derivar de um padrão de hereditariedade autossómica dominante, ou esporádica (10%) se não estiver associada a um historial familiar. A ELA pode também ser classificada como bulbar ou medular, dependendo do local de origem. O seu prognóstico é a morte do paciente por falência respiratória, 2 a 5 anos após o início dos sintomas. A ELA pode ter diversas manifestações motoras tais como fraqueza muscular progressiva, degeneração, fasciculações e contrações, mas também manifestações extra-motoras podendo ir ao encontro do diagnóstico de demência fronto-temporal (DFT). As causas da ELA não são claras, porém existem diversos mecanismos patológicos associados. Uma das principais causas genéticas é a mutação no gene SOD1, causando patogenicidade através da perda de funções na proteína codificante assim como a sua agregação em neurónios motores e células da glia, despoletando outros mecanismos tais como neuro-inflamação, que contribuem para a progressão da doença. A causa genética mais comum é a expansão repetida hexanucleotídica no gene C9orf72, responsável pela maioria dos casos de ELA/DFT e cerca de 40% dos casos familiares de ELA. Todas essas complicações tornam a vida dos pacientes bastante complicada. Infelizmente, não existem muitos medicamentos modificadores da doença aprovados para o tratamento da ELA, tornando o tratamento muito focado na gestão dos sintomas e na ajuda da melhoria da qualidade de vida dos pacientes. Os únicos medicamentos aprovados no mercado são o riluzol e o edaravone. O objetivo principal desta monografia é fornecer uma visão geral e atualizada da doença em 2020 e a revisão das terapêuticas mais promissores a ser desenvolvidas de momento e respetivos ensaios clínicos de fase I, II e II.Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of motor neurons and progressive muscular atrophy. ALS can be characterized as familial ALS (10% of the cases) if it has autosomal dominant inheritance patter or sporadic ALS (90% of the cases) if there is no family history. It can also be characterized in bulbar ALS or spinal ALS depending on the onset point. Its prognostic often is death by respiratory failure, 2 to 5 years after disease onset. ALS can have very different motor manifestations such as progressive muscle weakness, wasting, fasciculations and cramps, but also non motor manifestations, a lot of the times meeting the diagnosis of fronto-temporal dementia. What causes ALS is not clear, but there are a lot of genetic and pathological mechanisms studied that are associated with it. One of the main genetic cause is a mutation in SOD1 gene, causing pathogenesis by loss-of-functions of the codifying protein and cytoplasmic aggregations in neurons and glial cells, triggering other mechanisms such as neuroinflammation that contribute to disease progression. The most common genetic cause is a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene, responsible for most cases of ALS/FTD and about 40% of familial cases of ALS. All those complications make a very difficult life for patients to take. Unfortunately, there are not so many disease-modifying drugs approved for the treatment of ALS, making treatment very focused in symptom management and in helping patients to have a better life quality. The only two drugs approved are riluzole and edaravone. The main objective of this dissertation is to give an updated overview of the disease in 2020, and review some of the most promising studies being made concerning new therapy ideas and phase I, II and III clinical trials

A clustering analysis of the chemical metric space

Tese de mestrado Bioinformática e Biologia Computacional, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2018O tempo médio de vida da espécie humana tem vindo a aumentar significativamente, sendo a indústria farmacêutica responsável por parte desse sucesso. O tempo médio de produção de um fármaco situa-se entre os 10 e os 15 anos e o seu custo tem vindo a crescer anualmente. A quiminformática permite a redução destas adversidades, recorrendo a ferramentas informáticas com a capacidade de prever propriedades químicas e biológicas. Uma abordagem utilizada para esta previsão é a dos modelos Relação Estrutura-Atividade Quantitativa, que se baseia na relação entre a semelhança de estrutura de fármacos e o conhecimento das suas atividades. Na verdade, alguns modelos utilizados atualmente utilizam algoritmos de elevada complexidade, incapazes de fazer previsões para grandes quantidades de dados. Neste contexto, na elaboração do presente trabalho, foi desenvolvido um algoritmo de agrupamento que permitisse definir farmacologicamente o espaço molecular. A performance deste algoritmo foi avaliada para um conjunto de dados considerável, provenientes da base de dados ZINC, de modo a verificar diversos aspetos importantes, como por exemplo, se este seria capaz de produzir resultados que permitissem definir o espaço molecular. Com base nos resultados produzidos pelo algoritmo, foram definidos farmacologicamente os agrupamentos gerados, de acordo com regras lógicas, recorrendo a uma base de dados de atividades, nomeadamente o ChEMBL 23. Este processo permitiu a criação de uma base de dados, posteriormente utilizada na construção de uma interface gráfica de busca. Desta forma, para um composto desconhecido, será possível verificar a que agrupamento este se encontra mais próximo, extrapolando a informação de alvos a ele ligado para o novo fármaco.The average life expectancy of the human species has been growing significantly and the pharmaceutical industry is a part of this success. The average time of production of a drug is between 10 and 15 years and the cost of it has been growing annually. Cheminformatics allows the reduction of these adversities, using computer tools capable of predicting chemical and biological properties. An approach used is the Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship models. These, make use of the relationship between the similarity of drug’s structure and the knowledge of their activities. In fact, some models currently used, make use of highly complex algorithms, unable to make predictions for large amounts of data. Thus, this work had the purpose to develop a clustering algorithm that allowed to define pharmacologically the molecular space. The algorithm performance was evaluated for a considerable data set, from the ZINC database, in order to verify several important aspects, such as, the ability to produce results that allowed to define the molecular space. Based on the results produced by the algorithm, the clusters generated, according to logical rules, were pharmacologically defined using a database of activities, namely ChEMBL 23. This process allowed the creation of a database, later used in the construction of a search graphical user interface. So, for an unknown compound, it will be possible to verify which is the closest cluster, extrapolating the target information attached to it, to the new drug

Characterizing the timing behaviour of power-line communication by means of simulation

Although power-line communication (PLC) is not a new technology, its use to support communication with timing requirements is still the focus of ongoing research. Recently, a new infrastructure was presented, intended for communication using power lines from a central location to geographically dispersed nodes using inexpensive devices. This new infrastructure uses a two-level hierarchical power-line system, together with an IP-based network. Within this infrastructure, in order to provide end-toend communication through the two levels of the powerline system, it is necessary to fully understand the behaviour of the underlying network layers. The masterslave behaviour of the PLC MAC, together with the inherent dynamic topology of power-line networks are important issues that must be fully characterised. Therefore, in this paper we present a simulation model which is being used to study and characterise the behaviour of power-line communication.C