Automated Vigor Estimation on Vineyards

Estimating the balance or vigor in vines, as the yield to pruning weight relation, is a useful parameter that growers use to better prepare for the harvest season and to establish precision agriculture management of the vineyard, achieving specific site planification like pruning, debriefing or budding. Traditionally growers obtain this parameter by first manually weighting the pruned canes during the vineyard dormant season (no leaves); second during the harvest collect the weight of the fruit for the vines evaluated in the first step and then correlate the two measures. Since this is a very manual and time-consuming task, growers usually obtain this number by just taking a couple of samples and extrapolating this value to the entire vineyard, losing all the variability present in theirs fields, which imply loss in information that can lead to specific site management and consequently grape quality and quantity improvement. In this paper we develop a computer vision-based algorithm that is robust to differences in trellis system, varieties and light conditions; to automatically estimate the pruning weight and consequently the variability of vigor inside the lot. The results will be used to improve the way local growers plan the annual winter pruning, advancing in the transformation to precision agriculture. Our proposed solution doesn\textsc{\char13}t require to weight the shoots (also called canes), creating prescription maps (detail instructions for pruning, harvest and other management decisions specific for the location) based in the estimated vigor automatically. Our solution uses Deep Learning (DL) techniques to get the segmentation of the vine trees directly from the image captured on the field during dormant seaso

Designing a New Video Game App as an aid for Introduction to Programming classes that use C Programming Language

[EN] This paper describes the use and development of a mobile application as an aid for an introduction to programming class in C, for first year engineering students. One of the biggest problems in teaching programming, and in particular in C is the concept of memory allocation and pointers. To help visualizing these concepts we developed an application in the form of a video game that works on both Android and iOS devices. The paper is inspired Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) pedagogical theory, studying the kind of learning that happens when playing computer and video games, how to use this medium as a tool for learning, and how to design games for learning. Research has shown benefits in using mobile applications to better engage students and help them learn at their own pace and levelWe did some preliminary performance testing on students from two different groups. One group of computer engineering students and another one of non-engineering majors, both groups learning to program, with no previous knowledge of programming, to evaluate the benefits of the application. The results of this test show that there is an improvement in the students understanding in C, and we also noted a very positive attitude of students toward using something as familiar to them as mobile phones to help them understand the material.Pantoja, M. (2017). Designing a New Video Game App as an aid for Introduction to Programming classes that use C Programming Language. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 10-16. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.4606OCS101

Política Exterior alemana en el contexto de la Post-reunificación: Un análisis a partir de las migraciones iraquíes hacia Alemania (2012-2015)

Esta monografía tiene como objetivo analizar la manera cómo las migraciones iraquíes hacia Alemania, en el periodo 2012 al 2015, han generado cambios en la política exterior en materia de seguridad de este país, considerado en Europa como uno de los mayores receptores de inmigrantes, debido a su política de “puertas abiertas”. La reconfiguración de la política exterior se puede evidenciar en el cambio del discurso y endurecimiento de la medidas de inmigración, obedeciendo a la necesidad de responder al reclamo de mayor seguridad que exigen algunos grupos políticos del país, al igual que líderes de otros países europeos y a la misma forma en que altos funcionarios de gobierno perciben las migraciones forzadas, quienes actualmente no las ven únicamente desde el enfoque en materia de cooperación y ayuda humanitaria, sino que las observan en términos de seguridad nacional. Adicional al cambio en la percepción, es importante añadir el fortalecimiento de organizaciones políticas tales como “Alternativa para Alemania (AFD)” y el “Movimientos Patriotas Europeos”, cuyos dirigentes agitan banderas contra la Islamización de Occidente (PEGIDA). Esta nueva visión actúa como un elemento de presión hacia las políticas que traía el gobierno alemán para el manejo del fenómeno de los refugiados. Esta investigación tomó como referentes para el análisis, las teorías Constructivista y la del Rol, válidas para examinar la política exterior del país, las medidas para atender la inmigración y el comportamiento mismo del Estado, de los individuos y de los nuevos actores que surgen en el país, ante el fenómeno de las migracionesSe llevó a cabo una investigación cualitativa, bajo un enfoque analítico y explicativo, apoyada en fuentes bibliográficas como instrumentos de soporte para el analizar ese cambio en el discurso.This monography aims to analyze the way in which Iraqi migrations to Germany between 2012-2015 period 2012 have generated changes in the foreign policy on security in this country, considered in Europe as one of the largest recipients of immigrants, due to its policy of "open doors". The foreign policy reconfiguration can be seen in the change of discourse and tightening of immigration measures, obeying the need to respond to the demand for greater security demanded by some political groups in the country, as well as leaders of other European countries, and the same way that high-level government officials perceive forced migration, who are not only seen from the focus on cooperation and humanitarian aid, but observe them in terms of national security. In addition, to the change in perception, it is important to add the strengthening of political organizations such as "Alternative for Germany (AFD)" and "European Patriot Movements", whose leaders wave flags against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA). This new vision acts as an element of pressure on the policies that the German government was bringing to bear on the phenomenon of refugees. This research took as reference for the analysis, Constructivist and Role theories, valid to examine the country's foreign policy, measures to address immigration and the very behavior of the State, individuals and new actors that arise in the country, before migrations phenomenon. A qualitative research was carried out, under an analytical and explanatory approach, supported by bibliographic sources as support tools for analyzing this change in discourse

A typology of fashion consumers based on motivations to interact with brands in social media : the ZARA case

This thesis main aim is focused on better understand the motivations to interact with brands in social media, applied to Zara. More specifically, the objective is to recognize and explore the fashion consumer profiles, taking into account psychographic (personality) and sociodemographic characteristics. The objective is to provide insights about “who” are the fashion consumers based on their motivations to interact with Zara in social media. In order to assess fashion consumers’ profiles the motivation scale developed by Enginkaya and Yilmaz (2014) and the personality scale developed by Baird et al., (2006) were adapted and used on this study. The study is exploratory and quantitative. An online and self-administered questionnaire was developed and data collection was applied among individuals who are simultaneously Zara clients and followers on the brand social media pages. Cluster analysis was used in order to segment Zara consumers using the 250 valid answers collected in the online questionnaire. Regarding the results, two segments of consumers were identified (Opportunity Motivated and Entertainment & Investigation Motivated). Both segments have identical sociodemographic profiles, however the segments differ on consumers’ personality traits and frequency of shopping at Zara. The Opportunity Motivated segment is consisted mostly by agreeable and open consumers and agreeable and conscious consumers comprise the Entertainment & Investigation Motivated segment. The theoretical framework proposed might help to support organizations to better understand the fashion consumer’s motivations to interact with fashion brands on social networks. It also helps managers and marketers to develop better market strategies for these segments.O principal objectivo desta tese é perceber as motivações para interagir com as marcas nas redes sociais, aplicado à Zara. Concretamente, o objectivo é identificar e explorar os perfis dos consumidores de moda, baseado nas motivações, tendo em conta as características psicográficas (personalidade) e sociodemográficas. O intuito é fornecer conhecimento sobre quem são os consumidores, baseado nas motivações para interagirem com a Zara nas redes sociais. O estudo é exploratório e quantitativo. Um questionário online e auto-administrado foi desenvolvido e os dados recolhidos, selecionando apenas clientes Zara e seguidores da marca nas redes sociais. A análise de clusters foi utilizada para segmentar os consumidores utilizando as 250 respostas do questionário. Para perceber os perfis dos consumidores de moda, foram adaptadas e utilizadas neste estudo as escalas das motivações desenvolvida por Enginkaya e Yilmaz (2014) e a de personalidade desenvolvida por Baird et al., (2006). Em relação aos resultados, foram identificados dois segmentos (Motivados pelas Oportunidades e Motivados pelo Entertenimento & Investigação). Ambos têm características sociodemográficas semelhantes, mas diferem nos traços de personalidade e na frequência que fazem compras na Zara. O segmento dos consumidores motivados pelas oportunidades é consistido por consumidores condescendentes e abertos, enquanto do segundo segmento fazem parte consumidores condescendentes e conscientes. Este estudo poderá ajudar as organizações a perceberem melhor as motivações dos consumidores para interagirem com as marcas nas redes sociais, sobretudo na área da moda. Poderá também ajudar gestores e marketers a atingirem melhor os consumidores ao desenvolverem estratégias mais adequadas para estes segmentos

Software toolset to enable image classification of earthquake damage to above-ground infrastructure

A critical task after a significant earthquake is determining the extent of damage to infrastructure networks. The decision-making process to dispatch emergency, repair, and in-field reconnaissance teams depends on whether road/railways and bridges are passible. Another concern is the rapid identification and resolution of physical disruptions to large-volume gas and water pipeline systems. After large seismic events, citizens, amateur photographers, and journalists now post thousands of photographs to formal/social media platforms. In the past, these images would have had to be reviewed by trained volunteers or expert engineers to evaluate whether: road/rail ways were significantly impacted by ground fracture, heaving, slope failure, or rock slides; bridges experienced severe damage or partial-to-complete collapse; and pipeline systems were interrupted by differential ground movement or liquefaction. The manual review of large imagesets for assessing damage has shown to be inefficient and, in cases, error-prone. This paper presents an automatic and rapid approach, based on computer vision techniques, to assessing damage to above-ground infrastructure networks via images uploaded in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. The authors developed an algorithm based on deep learning (DL) that automatically tags images. Progress to date shows the algorithm correctly assigns individual tags to 92% of roadway images exhibiting cracking (of varying directionality and severities) and 80% of railways affected by horizontal offset (lateral translation). These results show promise and future research efforts entail tagging both of the aforementioned damage types in a single image

Effect of TIG and laser welded joints with different designs executed in machined Ti-6Al-4V and casted pure titanium strutures on the mechanical cycling resistance

Orientador: Marcelo Ferraz MesquitaTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de PiracicabaResumo: Este estudo avaliou a resistência à ciclagem mecânica de estruturas confeccionadas em liga de Ti-6Al-4V e em Ti cp, submetidas à soldagem a laser (L) e ao procedimento TIG de soldagem (TIG), com variação de design das uniões, e correlacionar esses resultados com dados obtidos na análise radiográfica dessas soldas. Para o primeiro ensaio, foram obtidos 70 corpos de prova (halteres) usinados em liga de Ti-6Al-4V, com 3,5 mm de diâmetro de secção transversal e, para o segundo ensaio, outros 70 foram fundidos em Ti cp. Os corpos de prova foram seccionados em duas partes iguais e as partes a serem unidas foram limpas e alinhadas, segundo os designs da união: em "I", variando as distâncias de soldagem (0,0mm (I00) ou 0,6mm (I06)), ou em "X" (X). As variáveis design da união e tipo de soldagem foram cruzadas entre si formando um total de 6 grupos, que associadas ao grupo controle (intactos) totalizaram 7 grupos (n=10): G1- Intacto; G2- L/I00; G3- L/I06; G4- L/X; G5- TIG/I00; G6- TIG/I06; G7- TIG/X, para cada ensaio. Os corpos de prova foram soldados a laser utilizando-se 360V/8ms (X) e 390V/9ms (I00 e I06), com foco e freqüência regulados em zero. As soldas TIG foram realizadas utilizando-se os seguintes parâmetros de soldagem: 2:2 (X) e 3:2 (I00 e I06). As uniões receberam acabamento, polimento e foram submetidas à análise radiográfica (90 kV, 15 mA, 0,6 seg e 12 mm de distância), para verificação de poros no interior das soldas. Posteriormente, foi realizado o ensaio de resistência à ciclagem mecânica, e o número de ciclos até a fratura foi registrado. As superfícies de fratura foram analisadas em microscópio eletrônico de varredura. Os testes de Kruskal-Wallis e Dunn (?=0,05) mostraram que para ambos os procedimentos de soldagem, a pior maneira de se realizar a união se dá com I00, e a melhor, com X (p<0,05), para ambos os metais. Apenas para L, I06 foi tão resistente quanto X, tanto para o Ti cp quanto para Ti-6Al-4V. Quando são comparados os dois procedimentos de união, para os dois materiais, o teste de Mann-Whitney (?=0,05) mostrou haver diferença entre as soldas para I00 e I06, sendo que a união soldada a laser foi a mais resistente. Quando foram comparados os grupos com seus respectivos controles, notou-se que para o Ti-6Al-4V, nenhum grupo soldado foi tão resistente quanto os intactos; já para o Ti cp, os grupos com design X, para as duas soldas, foram tão resistentes quanto o controle, assim como o I06 soldado a laser. O coeficiente de correlação de Spearman (?=0,05) indicou correlação negativa entre número de ciclos resistidos e presença de poros nas radiografias das uniões dos materiais testados. Pode-se concluir que a união soldada com design em "X" dev0e ser empregada quando se pretende soldar a TIG corpos de prova de 3,5 mm de diâmetro de secção transversal. Quando é empregada a solda a laser, pode ser utilizado o design em "I" com 0,6 mm de espaçamento entre as partes, além do design em "X".Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fatigue strength of Ti-6Al-4V alloy and pure titanium (cp TI) structures, submitted to laser (L) and TIG (TIG) welding procedures, varying the design of the joints, and correlate these results with joints radiographic analyses data. For the first test, 70 dumbbell rods with central diameters of 3.5 mm were obtained by lost-wax casting procedure in cp Ti, and others 70 were machined in Ti-6Al-4V alloy, for the second test. The specimens were sectioned in 2 equal parts, perpendicular to the rods long axis. The parts to be weld were cleaned and aligned according to joint designs: "I" design, varying welding distances (0.0 mm (I00) or 0.6 mm (I06)), or "X" (X) design. The variables joint design and type of welding were crossed creating 6 groups, that associated to the control group (intact), totaled 7 groups (n=10): G1- Intact; G2- L/I00; G3- L/I06; G4- L/X; G5- TIG/I00; G6- TIG/I06; G7- TIG/X, to each test. Laser-welding was executed using 360V/8ms (X) and 390V/9ms (I00 e I06) with focus and frequency regulated at zero. The TIG welding were executed using 2:2 (X) and 3:2 (I00 and I06) as welding parameters. The joints were finished, polished and submitted to radiographic examination (90 kV, 15 mA, 0.6 second and 12 mm of distance), for pores verification within the joints. Later, the rods were submitted to mechanical cyclic tests, and the number of cycles until fracture was recorded. The fracture surface was examined with a scanning electron microscope. Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn test (?=0.05) indicated that for both welding procedures, the worst way to perform the joint occurs with I00, and the best, with X (p<0.05), for both metals. To L, I06 was as resistant as X. When both type of welding are compared, to both materials, the Mann-Whitney test (?=0.05) indicates difference to I00 and I06, being the laser-weld joint the better one. When groups were compared with their respective control groups, it was noticed for Ti-6Al-4V that none of the joint groups was as resistant as the intact; on the contrary to cp Ti the "X" design groups, welded by TIG or L were as resistant as control, even as I06 laser-welded. The Spearman correlation coefficient (?=0.05) indicated a negative correlation between number of cycles and presence of porosity in radiographies of both materials. It could be concluded that the "X" design can be employed to weld 3.5 mm in diameter structures by laser or TIG welding procedure. When laser welding procedure is used, the "I" design with a space of 0.6 mm between parts can also be employed.DoutoradoProtese DentalMestre em Clínica Odontológic

Photo Tagging Tool for Rapid and Detailed Post-Earthquake Structural Damage Identification

A significant task in earthquake reconnaissance is to conduct rapid and accurate assessments of damage to built infrastructure. This can be accomplished, in part, by analyzing the large volumes of high-resolution image data collected after a seismic event. However, detailed image tagging remains a task for trained human volunteers, which is both time-intensive and error prone. The authors developed a software tool to simplify and standardize the process of assigning damage and structure pairs to sub-regions of images. The goal of the tool is to facilitate the tagging of thousands of images from historic and recent earthquakes to train a deep learning (DL) algorithm to automatically identify damage observed in civil infrastructure. DL is a subset of machine learning that can be used for image classification problems. This process requires thousands of expertly tagged images for robust and automatic visual recognition capabilities. In detecting specific structural damage after an earthquake, images must have explicit tags for the building material, damage and location, as well as the impacted structural members. To obtain such a descriptive set of images, there is a need for a task-specific tool that facilitated tagging of the most common post-earthquake structural damage types. The resulting software solution consists of a simple user interface that displays the most frequently used damage and structural member tags as pre-loaded radio buttons and includes the flexibility for users to customize tags when necessary. The program generates marked-up images that show location-specific damage and structural member labels, as well as output files in the PASCAL Visual Object Classes (VOC) format that are compatible with TensorFlow and most DL frameworks, such that tagged images are ready to be used for training a DL algorithm

Qualidade de vida no trabalho, satisfação profissional e saliência das actividades em adultos trabalhadores

Tese de mestrado, Psicologia (Psicologia dos Recursos Humanos, do Trabalho e das Organizações), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, 2010O objectivo principal do presente estudo é averiguar a existência de um efeito de mediação da variável Saliência das Actividades (adesão e participação nos cinco papéis: estudo, trabalho, serviço à comunidade, casa e tempo livre) na relação entre a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (QVT) e a Satisfação Profissional. Tendo como fundamento os modelos de QVT, Satisfação Profissional, bem como o modelo de Super (1990) sobre Saliência de Actividades, previa-se que existiria uma correlação positiva entre QVT e Satisfação Profissional e entre Saliência das Actividades e a Satisfação Profissional. Os resultados obtidos a partir de uma amostra com 139 adultos, com o mínimo de seis meses de experiência profissional demonstram que apenas a correlação entre a QVT Frequência e a Satisfação Profissional é significativa, sendo os resultados das correlações entre a Saliência das Actividades e a Satisfação Profissional bastante heterogéneos. Verifica-se, ainda, que apenas a Adesão ao papel Serviço à Comunidade e a Participação no papel Tempos Livres, têm um efeito mediador na relação entre QVT Frequência e Satisfação Profissional (α =.05). No final são ainda apresentadas algumas limitações, bem como as implicações práticas do presente estudo. The main aim of this study is to determine the existence of a mediation effect of variable Role Salience (commitment and participation in the five roles: student, worker, citizen, homemaker and leisure) on the relationship between the Quality of Working Life (QWL) and Job Satisfaction. Based on models of QWL, Job Satisfaction and Super’s Model (1990) about Role Salience, it’s also expected that there would be a positive correlation between QWL and Job Satisfaction and between Role Salience and Job Satisfaction. Results obtained from a sample of 139 adults, with a minimum of six months of work experience demonstrate that only the correlation between the QWL Frequency and Job Satisfaction is significant and the results of correlations between the Role Salience and Job Satisfaction are very heterogeneous. Also only the commitment to citizen and participation in leisure, have a mediating effect on the relationship between QWL Frequency and Job Satisfaction (α =. 05). At the end are also presented some limitations, as well as the practical implications of this study

Enhancing regional ocean modeling simulation performance with the Xeon Phi architecture

Ocean studies are crucial to many scientific disciplines. Due to the difficulty in probing the deep layers of the ocean and the scarcity of data in some of the oceans, the scientific community relies heavily on ocean simulation models. Ocean modeling is complex and computationally intensive, and improving the performance of these models will greatly advance and improve the work of ocean scientists. This paper presents a detailed exploration of the acceleration of the Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS) software with the latest Intel Xeon Phi x200 architectures. Both shared-memory and distributed-memory parallel computing models are evaluated. Results show run time improvements of nearly a factor of 16 compared to a serial implementation. Further experiments and optimizations, including the use of a GPU acceleration model, are discussed and results are presented

Image Stream Similarity Search in GPU Clusters

Images are an important part of today’s society. They are everywhere on the internet and computing, from news articles to diverse areas such as medicine, autonomous vehicles and social media. This enormous amount of images requires massive amounts of processing power to process, upload, download and search for images. The ability to search an image, and find similar images in a library of millions of others empowers users with great advantages. Different fields have different constraints, but all benefit from the quick processing that can be achieved. Problems arise when creating a solution for this. The similarity calculation between several images, performing thousands of comparisons every second, is a challenge. The results of such computations are very large, and pose a challenge when attempting to process. Solutions for these problems often take advantage of graphs in order to index images and their similarity. The graph can then be used for the querying process. Creating and processing such a graph in an acceptable time frame poses yet another challenge. In order to tackle these challenges, we take advantage of a cluster of machines equipped with Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), enabling us to parallelize the process of describing an image visually and finding other images similar to it in an acceptable time frame. GPUs are incredibly efficient at processing data such as images and graphs, through algorithms that are heavily parallelizable. We propose a scalable and modular system that takes advantage of GPUs, distributed computing and fine-grained parallellism to detect image features, index images in a graph and allow users to search for similar images. The solution we propose is able to compare up to 5000 images every second. It is also able to query a graph with thousands of nodes and millions of edges in a matter of milliseconds, achieving a very efficient query speed. The modularity of our solution allows the interchangeability of algorithms and different steps in the solution, which provides great adaptability to any needs