SiMRiv: an R package for mechanistic simulation of individual, spatially-explicit multistate movements in rivers, heterogenous and homogenous spaces incorporating landscape bias

Software articleBackground: Lack of suitable analytical software and computational power constrains the comprehension of animal movement. In particular, we are aware of no tools allowing simulating spatially-explicit multistate Markovian movements constrained to linear features or conditioned by landscape heterogeneity, which hinders movement ecology research in linear/dendritic (e.g. river networks) and heterogeneous landscapes. SiMRiv is a novel, fast and intuitive R package we designed to fill such gap. It does so by allowing continuous-space mechanistic spatially-explicit simulation of multistate Markovian individual movements incorporating landscape bias on local behavior. Results: We present SiMRiv and its main functionalities, illustrate its simulation capabilities and easy-of-use, and discuss its limitations and potential improvements. We further provide examples of use and a preliminary evaluation, using real and simulated data, of a parameter approximation experimental method. SiMRiv allowed us to generate increasingly complex movements of three theoretical species (aquatic, semiaquatic and terrestrial), showing the effects of input parameters and water-dependence on emerging movement patterns, and to parameterize a high-frequency simulation model from real, low-frequency movement (telemetry) data. Typical running times for conducting 1000 simulations with 10,000 steps each, of two-state movement trajectories in a river network, were of ca. 3 min in an Intel Core i7 CPU X990 @ 3.47 GHz Conclusions: SiMRiv allows simulation of movements constrained to linear habitats or conditioned by landscape heterogeneity, therefore enhancing the application of movement ecology to linear/dendritic and heterogeneous landscapes. Importantly, the software is flexible enough to be used in linear, heterogeneous, as well as homogeneous landscapes. Using the same software, algorithm and approach, one can therefore use SiMRiv to study the movement of different organisms in a variety of landscapes, facilitating comparative research. SiMRiv balances ease and speed with high realism of the movement models obtainable, constituting a fast, powerful, yet intuitive tool, which should contribute exploring several movement-related questions. Its applications depart from the generation of mechanistic null movement models, up to population level (e.g. landscape connectivity) analyses, holding potential for all fields requiring the simulation of random trajectoriesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social media advertising : targeting mobile vs computer users

Mobile Advertising is no longer a topic of the future, but rather from the present. The exponential development of the smartphone industry and rapid growth of mobile penetration rates throughout the world significantly impacted people’s lives. New technologies, particularly social media, changed lifestyles, forcing the advertising industry to redesign itself. This study examined the performance of online campaigns targeted to mobile vs computer users, as well as the moderating effects of offer characteristics (i.e., their hedonic vs utilitarian character), using data both secondary – 88 observations from two Social Media campaigns ran for three weeks by a digital marketing agency for one client - and primary, gathered through a survey with 360 valid responses, from 433 overall. Social media ads targeting mobile users generated higher Click-Through Rates (CTR), confirming previous findings. However, computer users generated higher Conversion Rates (CR), indicating that these devices may be associated with more well-thought decisions. From a management perspective, results suggest that while Facebook’s algorithm favours investments in mobile-targeted campaigns, which deliver higher CTR, computer-targeted campaigns are actually more profitable to both agencies and advertising brands. Regarding offer characteristics, it seems that offers with a more utilitarian nature still edge their hedonic counterparts in terms of online advertising, registering higher levels of purchase intentions, confirming Bart et al. 2014’s conclusions. Finally, individual-level variables like gender, nationality or lifestyle habits proved to significantly affect ad performance. Overall, the findings of this dissertation may help companies and agencies make better decisions when investing in social media ad campaigns.O crescimento sem precedentes da indústria dos smartphones e da taxa de penetração de dispositivos móveis nos vários países do globo alteraram o panorama da publicidade. Os hábitos e estilo de vida das pessoas mudaram radicalmente, e obrigaram a publicidade a transformar-se para as poder acompanhar. Publicidade online em dispositivos móveis é um tema atual, e esta tese analisou as diferenças que se obtém entre campanhas de publicidade dirigidas para smartphones ou computadores. Através de dados secundários – 88 observações provenientes de duas campanhas de uma agência de publicidade para o mesmo cliente que duraram três semanas – e primários, recolhidos através de um questionário que teve 360 respostas válidas, de 433 no total. Também as características das ofertas em questão foram analisadas, as motivações de compra dos produtos utilitárias ou hedónicas. Conclusões de estudos passados foram confirmadas, como o facto de campanhas em smartphones gerarem melhores CTR do que em computadores, ainda que estes mantenham a supremacia ao nível de conversões, aparentando ser mais adequados para decisões que requerem maior ponderação. Do ponto de vista da gestão, foi também notada uma sugestão de que o algoritmo do Facebook tende a alocar mais tráfego a campanhas de smartphones, por registarem CTR melhores, ainda que utilizadores de computador convertam mais. No que toca às características dos produtos, ofertas utilitárias tendem a levar vantagem sobre hedónicas, a nível de intenções de compra. Estas conclusões podem ser valiosas tanto para empresas como agências de publicidade, na hora de tomar decisões sobre campanhas em redes sociais

Management of multi-ownership mediterranean forest landscapes:balancing biodiversity conservation and fire risk reduction

Tese de doutoramento, Biologia (Ecologia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2013Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, BD/28974/2006); IFADAP-Program AGRO 8.1 (project 458-2003.09.002326.2)

Carduncellus cuatrecasasii G. López (Asteraceae) y Eryngium aquifolium Cav. (Apiaceae), dos nuevas especies para la flora de Portugal

Carduncellus cuatrecasasii G. López (Asteraceae) y Eryngium aquifolium Cav. (Apiaceae), dos nuevas especies para la flora de PortugalKey words. Carduncellus, Asteraceae, Eryngium, Apiaceae, distribution, PortugalPalavras-chave. Carduncellus, Asteraceae, Eryngium, Apiaceae, distribuição, Portuga

Onosma tricerosperma subsp. tricerosperma Lag. (Boraginaceae), uma nova espécie e género para a flora portuguesa

Onosma tricerosperma subsp. tricerosperma Lag. (Boraginaceae), uma nova espécie e género para a flora portuguesa Key words. Onosma tricerosperma, Boraginaceae, chorology, Portugal. Palavras chave. Onosma tricerosperma, Boraginaceae, corologia, Portugal

Capacidade de sprints repetidos e os níveis de potência muscular em jogadores de futebol profissional

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Desportos. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação FísicaIntroducao: os sprints se caracterizam como um tipo de deslocamento muito utilizado por jogadores de futebol, ao quais dependem fundamentalmente de variaveis fisiologicas e podem estar correlacionadas ao desempenho da potencia muscular, capacidade fisica de vital importancia para atletas desta modalidade. Objetivo: analisar a potencia muscular e a capacidade de sprints repetidos (CSR) em jogadores de futebol profissional. Metodo: participaram deste estudo 20 jogadores de futebol profissional com idades de 19 e 20 anos, do sexo masculino. Antes de iniciarem a coleta de dados, os atletas foram esclarecidos sobre os objetivos do estudo e posteriormente assinaram o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido. Os dados foram coletados em quatro momentos, junto ao complexo esportivo e no campo de futebol do Centro de Desportos (CDS) da UFSC, organizados da seguinte maneira: primeiro, os jogadores realizaram medidas inerentes a avaliacao antropometrica (massa corporal, estatura e dobras cutaneas); segundo, foi realizado o salto vertical - Continuos Jump (CJ), o qual consistiu na execucao continua de 3 saltos com contra-movimento para analise da potencia muscular; terceiro, foi realizado o teste de campo RAST, com protocolo que consiste em efetuar seis sprints maximos de 35 m com 10 s de pausa passiva. Foi registrado o tempo em cada um dos sprints e no quarto momento o CJ foi repetido. Foi utilizada estatistica descritiva para a apresentacao dos dados. Para verificar se houve diferenca nos niveis de potencia antes e apos os sprints repetidos utilizou-se o teste #gt#h de Student. Para verificar as correlacoes entre os sprints e a potencia muscular utilizou-se correlacao linear de Pearson. O nivel de significancia foi de p.0,05. Resultados: nao foi verificada diferenca significativa nos niveis de potencia muscular mensurados antes e depois da realizacao dos sprints (t=0,58; p=0,57). Entre os tempos dos 6 sprints encontraran-se diferencas significativas (F=122,8; p<0,001), exceto entre o 5 e o 6 (p=0,06). Foi encontrada correlacao significativa entre a altura no CJ obtida antes da realizacao dos sprints (Ha) e o tempo do primeiro sprint (T1) (r=-0,62; p=0,01); entre a Ha e tempo medio nos sprints (TM) (r=-0,58; p=0,01); entre Ha e o melhor tempo nos sprints (MT) (r=-0,60; p=0,01) e entre o TM e o MT nos sprints (r=0,95; p=0,01). Nao foi encontrada correlacao significativa entre a altura no CJ depois dos sprints (Hd) e o tempo do sexto sprint (T6) (r=-0,43; p=0,06). Conclusoes: os futebolistas deste estudo foram capazes de manter os niveis de potencia muscular apos a realizacao dos sprints; a performance nos sprints repetidos sofreu uma queda significativa ate o quinto sprint, sendo mantida no ultimo; por fim, a performance nos sprints esteve relacionada com os niveis de potencia.Introduction: the sprints are characterized as a kind of displacement used by soccer players, which depend on the physiological variables and can be correlated with the performance of muscle power, physical capacity of vital importance for performance of soccer players. Purpose: analyze the muscle power and repeated sprint ability in professional soccer players. Method: twenty professional male soccer players took part of this study with nineteen and twenty years. Before starting the data collection, the players were informed about the purposes of the study and subsequently written the informed consent. Data were collected in four steps on the sports complex and on the soccer field of Centro de Desportos (CDS) of UFSC, organized as follow: first, the anthropometrical measurements (body weight, height and body fat) were realized; second, the vertical jump . Continuous Jump (CJ), which consisted in three countermovement jumps was executed, for de analysis of muscle power; third, the RAST test, which consisted in the execution of six maximal 35-m sprints with 10 s of passive rest were realized. The time of sprints was registered e after the CJ was realized again. Descriptive statistics was used for presentation of the variables. To determine the difference of the muscle power before and after sprints the student #gt#h test was used. To determine correlations between sprints and muscle power the Pearson linear correlation was used. The level of statistical significance was set at p.0.05. Results: there was no significant difference in the levels of muscle power measured before and after the sprint repeated (t=0.58; p=0.57). Significant difference was found (F=122.8; p<0.001), except between the fifth and sixth (p=0.06). Significant correlation was found between height at CJ obtained before the sprints (Ha) and the time of the first sprint (T1) (r=-0.62, p =0.01); between Ha and average time in the sprints (TM) (r=-0.58, p=0.01); between Ha and the best time in the sprints (MT) (r=0.60, p=0.01) and between the TM and MT in the sprints (r=0.95, p=0.01). There was no significant correlation between height at CJ after the sprints (Hd) and the sixth sprint time (T6) (r=-0.43, p=0.06). Conclusions: the soccer players of this study were able to maintain levels of muscle power after the sprints; the repeated sprints performance suffered a significant drop until the fifth sprint, remaining until the last; finally, the sprint performance was related to levels of muscle power

The fate of bilingualism in a model of language competition

The original publication is available at Springer website: http://www.springer.com/computer/mathematics/book/978-4-431-73150-4.In the general context of dynamics of social consensus, we study an agent based model for the competition between two socially equivalent languages, addressing the role of bilingualism and social structure. In a regular network, we study the formation of linguistic domains and their interaction across the boundaries. We analyse also a small world social structure, in order to capture the effect of long range social interactions. In both cases, a final scenario of dominance of one language and extinction of the other is obtained, but with smaller times for extinction in the latter case. In addition, we compare our results to our previous work on the agent based version of Abrams-Strogatz model.We acknowledge financial support from the MEC (Spain) through project CONOCE2 (FIS2004-00953). X. C. also acknowledges financial support from a Ph.D. fellowship of the Govern de les Illes Balears (Spain). L. L-P. also acknowledges financial support from the Autonomous Government of Galicia (PGIDIT05PXIC20401PN), and the MEC (Spain) and the ERDF (HUM2004-00940).http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-73167-

Aportaciones de las universidades españolas a la investigación sobre menores y medios de comunicación

L'interès acadèmic espanyol per la relació dels nens i joves amb els mitjans de comunicació s'ha incrementat al llarg d'aquests últims anys, fins al punt que constitueix una línia d'investigació destacada en moltes universitats. Assistim a una proliferació de grups d'investigació, observatoris, laboratoris, instituts… a través dels quals s'aconsegueixen fer passos importants. D'aquests treballs de recerca s'extreuen fruits que augmenten exponencialment quan aquests estudis es duen a terme en xarxes que permeten posar en contacte a centres fins fa poc desconnectats entre si, de manera que puguin compartir informació. Si partim d'aquest punt fort que suposa la interacció entre els diferents grups, aquest treball tracta d'oferir un mapa de l'estat actual de la investigació que es desenvolupa des de les universitats espanyoles sobre menors i mitjans de comunicació. Pretenem mostrar les principals línies d'actuació impulsades des dels centres educatius, algunes de les conclusions obtingudes arran d'aquests treballs, així com les tendències i perspectives futures d'aquest interessant i, alhora, ambiciosos camp d'estudi. D'altra banda, el dèficit major que trobem és que les nostres investigacions emmalalteixen d'escàs component internacional. No tant perquè no s'aborda la situació d'altres països, sinó més aviat perquè haurien de ser més nombrosos els investigadors que formin part de consorcis que, a més, permetin la solvència suficient com per establir comparatives i fulls de ruta per als mitjans i normatives aplicables per institucions supranacionals com a la Unió Europea.El interés académico español por la relación de los niños y jóvenes con los medios de comunicación se ha incrementado a lo largo de estos últimos años hasta tal punto que constituye una línea de investigación destacada en muchas universidades. Asistimos a una proliferación de grupos de investigación, observatorios, laboratorios, institutos… a través de los cuales se logran dar pasos importantes. De estos trabajos de investigación se extraen frutos que aumentan exponencialmente cuando esos estudios se llevan a cabo en redes que permiten poner en contacto a centros hasta hace poco desconectados entre sí, de modo que puedan compartir información. Si partimos de este punto fuerte que supone la interacción entre los distintos grupos, este trabajo trata de ofrecer un mapa del estado actual de la investigación que se desarrolla desde las universidades españolas sobre menores y medios de comunicación. Pretendemos mostrar las principales líneas de actuación impulsadas desde los centros educativos, algunas de las conclusiones obtenidas a raíz de estos trabajos, así como las tendencias y perspectivas futuras de este interesante y, a la vez, ambiciosos campo de estudio. Por otro lado, el déficit mayor que encontramos es que nuestras investigaciones adolecen de escaso componente internacional. No tanto porque no se aborde la situación de otros países, sino más bien porque deberían ser más numerosos los investigadores que formen parte de consorcios que, además, permitan la solvencia suficiente como para establecer comparativas y hojas de ruta para los medios y normativas aplicables por instituciones supranacionales como la Unión Europea.In the last years, the Spanish educational interest for the relationship between children and media has increased up to the point that this topic constitutes one of the main research lines of the universities in our territory. We find a development of the groups, observatories, laboratories and institutes from which works are obtained results that increase exponentially when those investigations are carried out in networks that allow organizations, until recently with no connection, to bring in contact with each other as well as share information with each other. Assuming how strong the interaction between the groups is, this work intends to offer a map of the research current status on children and the media at the Spanish universities, aiming to establish which are the main research lines of the centres, conclusions they have been reaching through their works and the trends and future perspectives of this interesting and wide field of study. Among the weak points, we conclude that Spanish studies still suffer from a lack of international dimension, which is not due to the fact that researchers don't investigate about the situation of other countries, but because few of them take part in consortiums that allow to count on enough solvency to establish comparatives and roadmaps for the media and applicable regulations from supranational institutions, as European Union

Sistema de monitorização e alarmística de ativos de rede

Este documento contém todo o estudo e planeamento para a implementação de um novo sistema de monitorização e alarmística, desenvolvido para o serviço de informática, no decorrer do estágio profissional no Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto. Observou-se que o sistema já existente, apesar de facilitar algumas ações da equipa, apresentava muitas lacunas, mas ao mesmo tempo uma boa abertura para evolução. A criação desse sistema teve que contemplar um conjunto de objetivos que levaram a elaboração de estudos, permitindo uma análise e fundamento na tomada de decisões e na criação de tarefas e testes. É apresentado também um estudo de uma nova arquitetura, pois devido a falta de recursos que a solução já implementada tinha, que permitisse ao serviço de informática obter um sistema robusto, redundante, fiável, seguro e sempre disponível.This document contains all the study and planning for the implementation of a new monitoring system and alarms, developed for the IT department in the course of internship in the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto. It was observed that the existing system, while facilitating some team's actions, had many shortcomings, but at the same time a good opening for evolution. The creation of this system has to include a number of goals, that led the elaboration of studies, allowing an analysis and foundation in the decision-making and in the creation of tasks and tests. It also presents a study of a new architecture, due to the lack of resources allocate to the system that already had implemented, enabling the IT department to obtain a new system that its robust, redundant, reliable, secure and always available

Development of a pattern recognition methodology with thermography and implementation in an experimental study of a boiler for a WHRS-ORC

Waste heat dissipated in the exhaust system in a combustion engine represents a major source of energy to be recovered and converted into useful work. A waste heat recovery system (WHRS) based on an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a promising approach, and it gained interest in the last few years in an automotive industry interested in reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Understanding the thermodynamic response of the boiler employed in an ORC plays an important role in steam cycle performance prediction and control system design. The aim of this study is, therefore, to present a methodology to study these devices by means of pattern recognition with infrared thermography. In addition, the experimental test bench and its operating conditions are described. The methodology proposed identifies the wall coordinates, traces the paths, and tracks the wall temperature along them in a way that can be exported for subsequent post-processing and analysis. As for the results, through the wall temperature paths on both sides (exhaust gas and working fluid), it was possible to quantitatively estimate the temperature evolution along the boiler and, in particular, the beginning and end of evaporation