Forecast and analysis of the Portuguese car fleet and automotive aftermarket using time-series modelling

The car fleet size and composition have a direct impact on the automotive aftermarket business value. This study used Time-series models to forecast the Portuguese car fleet composition until2030,whichis projected to rise by just2%(6.3 million vehicles). It is highlighted the exponential growth of EVs reaching a 12.2% fleet share by2030,under a Neutral scenario. The car fleet composition was adjusted under three scenarios after external conditioning variables such as environmental policies and the introduction of shared cars were factored in, affecting the automotive aftermarket value. While it is expected to increase from 914.2to 950.7 million euros between 2018and 2030, the maintenance market share of internal combustion engine vehicles is expected to decrease. On the other hand, next-generation vehicles such as EVs, shared cars, and partially automated cars, are projected to take a growing share of the car fleet and automotive after market value of the future

A surgical model of short bowel syndrome induces a long-lasting increase in pancreatic beta-cell mass

Several surgical techniques are used nowadays as a severe treatment for obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2. These techniques are aggressive due to drastic changes in the nutrient flow and non-reversible modifications on the digestive tube. In this paper we present the effects of a massive intestinal resection on the pancreas. Results have shown that short bowel technique is less aggressive to normal anatomy and physiology of the intestinal tract than Gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion (e.g.). In this paper we reproduce a model of short bowel syndrome (SIC), with similar surgical conditions and clinical complications as seen in human cases. This work was conducted on normal Wistar rats, with no other concurrent factors, in order to determine the effects on normal pancreas islets. We measured pancreatic implications by histomorphometric studies, which included beta-cell mass by immunocytochemistry, and apoptosis/proliferation test with TUNEL technique and Ki-67. Briefly, we reported on an increased relative area of the islets of the pancreas, as well as an increase in the average size of islets in the SIC versus the control group. Furthermore we stated that this increase in size of the pancreatic islets is due to the mechanisms of proliferation of beta cells in animals undergoing SIC. These goals could reveal a direct influence of surgical modification of the digestive tract over the pancreatic beta cell homeostasis. In this sense, there are many potential stimulators of intestinal adaptation, including peptide hormones and growth components which are associated or involved as effectors of the endocrine pancreas

Electroweak loop corrections to high energy processes

Tese de doutoramento em Física, apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2008Disponível no document

Comidoria em João Surá : o sistema alimentar como um fato social total

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Ricardo Cid FernandesDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Parana, Setor de Ciencias Humanas, Letras e Artes, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social. Defesa: Curitiba, 17/07/2011Bibliografia: fls. 270-274Área de concentração: Antropologia socialResumo: Esta pesquisa discorre sobre como o sistema alimentar de João Surá mostrou ser um fato social total, em que a dinâmica social, da produção até o consumo de alimentos, revela informações sobre a totalidade da comunidade. A ênfase na etnografia das preparações alimentares, utilizada como eixo metodológico neste estudo, permitiu a aproximação com os moradores e o levantamento de informações amplas, desde o contexto histórico da comunidade até sua situação atual. Em 2005 foram reconhecidos como "comunidade remanescente de quilombo", o que comprovou que há mais de 200 anos ocupam as terras do Vale do Ribeira. A significativa perda do território histórico, com a diminuição da população loc l e alterações no meio ambiente, repercutiram em mudanças nos modos de vida tradicionais dos moradores. Passaram a ter dificuldades no acesso aos recursos locais que historicamente tem garantido a reprodução do grupo, tanto material como imaterial. Apesar disso, demonstram nas práticas cotidianas, e em períodos de festas e rezas, o forte apego às tradições, em que o catolicismo popular e a crença no transcendente dinamizam a vida em comunidade. A divisão do território, assim como do trabalho, sempre ocorrera em esferas de sociabilidade, relacionadas a valores e práticas inscritas no contexto do campesinato brasileiro. Os alimentos são transformados em comidas por meio de técnicas culinárias próprias e a seleção de ingredientes específicos. Um conjunto de alimentos industrializados foi incorporado no cotidiano, e apesar disso, a alimentação tradicional, seus simbolismos, representações e classificações não foram abandonadas e as mudanças refletem mais adaptações à modernidade do que alterações radicais. A comida cerimonial se diferencia da cotidiana ao se priorizar a quantidade, sempre abundante, e a qualidade, em que os alimentos mais raros e caros devem ser compartilhados, em uma dinâmica social que promove a segurança alimentar do grupo. Nestes momentos a alimentação é especial, é comidoria, termo nativo que se refere a comensalidade, em que o comer junto reafirma práticas e valores do grupo. Reconhecem seu lugar no mundo a partir da interação com os outros, atualizando e reforçando tradições que conduzem para um pertencimento identitário. A alimentação, portanto, mostrou seu um fato social total, pois através dela foi possível descrever o essencial, o movimento do todo e a cosmovisão do grupo.Abstract: This research discourses on how the feeding system of João Surá showed to be a total social fact, in which the social dynamic, from the production to the feed consumption, reveal information on the totality of the community. The emphasis in the ethnography of the feed preparations, used as methodological axis in this study, allowed the approach with the residents and the gathering of broad information, since the historical context of the community to its current situation. In 2005 were recognized as "maroon remnants community", which proved that over 200 years they occupy Vale do Ribeira’s lands. The significant loss of the historical territory, with the decrease of the local population and environment alterations, reverberated in the traditional lifestyle of the residents. They have passed to have difficulties in the access to local resources that historically have granted the group reproduction, material and immaterial. Despite that, they show in everyday life practices, and in party and prayers period, the strong attachment to traditions, in that he popular Catholicism and the transcendent belief dynamize the communitarian life. The territory division, so as the work, always happened in sociability spheres, related to values and practices included in the brazilian peasantry context. The feed are transformed in food by means of own culinary techniques and the selection of specific ingredients. A set of industrialized feed was incorporated in everyday life, and despite that, the traditional feeding, your symbolisms, representations and classifications were not abandoned and the changes reflect more adaptations to modernity than radical alterations. The ceremonial food differentiates from everyday food by prioritize quantity, always abundant, and the quality, in whic the rarest and more expensive feeds must be shared, in a social dynamic that promotes the feeding safety of the group. In these moments the feeding is special, is comidoria, native term that refers to commensality, in which the eating together reaffirm practices and values of the group. Recognize your place in the world through the interactions with others, updating and reinforcing traditions that conduct to an identity belonging. The feeding, therefore, showed to be a total social fact, because by it, was possible to describe the essential, the movement of the whole and the group’s cosmovision

ESO – Empreendedor Social Oculto: proposta de um modelo conceptual para uma ferramenta de empreendedorismo social para comunidades vulneráveis

O sector social é pautado por iniciativas “top-down” que desenvolvem soluções a curto prazo que causam a longo prazo disfunções, pela falta de participação e colaboração de indivíduos, famílias e comunidades. Propõem-se que as próprias comunidades desenvolvam soluções para problemas existentes no seu contexto, para tal existem várias ferramentas de Empreendedorismo Social que permitem auxiliar o desenvolvimento destas iniciativas sociais. No entanto, estas ferramentas não são passíveis de serem usadas por comunidades de baixa escolaridade devido ao seu grau de complexidade. Afigura-se importante pensar em novas ferramentas e estratégias que considerem características psicossociais destas comunidades tornando-as inclusivas. Desta forma, esta investigação tem como objetivo aferir que características uma ferramenta de Empreendedorismo Social deve ter para que possa ser manuseada por comunidades de baixa escolaridade. Recorre-se à revisão bibliográfica da área do Empreendedorismo Social, Design para Inovação Social e Comunidades de prática. Desenvolve-se uma análise de cinco casos de estudo de projetos e análise de seis ferramentas de Empreendedorismo Social. É desenvolvido um protótipo de uma ferramenta de Empreendedorismo Social e são realizados testes da ferramenta em formato de workshop. Os resultados da implementação da ferramenta revelam que a Ferramenta ESO, auxilia comunidades socioeconomicamente vulneráveis a desenhar as soluções de impacto social positivo para a sua comunidade.The social sector is characterized by “top-down” initiatives that develop short-term solutions that cause dysfunctions in the long term, due to the lack of participation and collaboration of individuals, families and communities. It is proposed that the communities themselves develop solutions to problems that exist in their context, for this there are several Social Entrepreneurship tools that help to develop these social initiatives. However, these tools are not likely to be used by low-education communities due to their degree of complexity. It is important to think about new tools and strategies that take into account the psychosocial characteristics of these communities and make them inclusive. Thus, this investigation aims to assess what characteristics a Social Entrepreneurship tool must have so that it can be handled by communities with low schooling. With this objective in mind, a bibliographic review of the area of Social Entrepreneurship, Design for Social Innovation and Communities of practice is used. An analysis of five project study cases and analysis of six Social Entrepreneurship tools is developed. A prototype of a Social Entrepreneurship tool is developed and is tested in a workshop format. The results of the tool's implementation reveal that the ESO Tool helps socioeconomically vulnerable communities to design solutions with a positive social impact for their community

Hierarchical evolution of robotic controllers for complex tasks

Abstract—In this paper, we demonstrate how an artificial neural network (ANN) based controller can be synthesized for a complex task through hierarchical evolution and composition of behaviors. We demonstrate the approach in a task in which an e-puck robot has to find and rescue a teammate. The robot starts in a room with obstacles and the teammate is located in a double T-maze connected to the room. We divide the rescue task into different sub-tasks: (i) exit the room and enter the double T-maze, (ii) solve the maze to find the teammate, and (iii) guide the teammate safely to the initial room. We evolve controllers for each sub-task, and we combine the resulting controllers in a bottom-up fashion through additional evolutionary runs. We conduct evolution offline, in simulation, and we evaluate the best performing controller on real robotic hardware. The controller achieved a task completion rate of more than 90 % both in simulation and on real robotic hardware. I

An efficient multi-objective evolutionary approach for solving the operation of multi-reservoir system scheduling in hydro-power plants

This paper tackles the short-term hydro-power unit commitment problem in a multi-reservoir system ? a cascade-based operation scenario. For this, we propose a new mathematical modeling in which the goal is to maximize the total energy production of the hydro-power plant in a sub-daily operation, and, simultaneously, to maximize the total water content (volume) of reservoirs. For solving the problem, we discuss the Multi-objective Evolutionary Swarm Hybridization (MESH) algorithm, a recently proposed multi-objective swarm intelligence-based optimization method which has obtained very competitive results when compared to existing evolutionary algorithms in specific applications. The MESH approach has been applied to find the optimal water discharge and the power produced at the maximum reservoir volume for all possible combinations of turbines in a hydro-power plant. The performance of MESH has been compared with that of well-known evolutionary approaches such as NSGA-II, NSGA-III, SPEA2, and MOEA/D in a realistic problem considering data from a hydro-power energy system with two cascaded hydro-power plants in Brazil. Results indicate that MESH showed a superior performance than alternative multi-objective approaches in terms of efficiency and accuracy, providing a profit of $412,500 per month in a projection analysis carried out.European CommissionMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadComunidad de Madri

An efficient multi-objective evolutionary approach for solving the operation of multi-reservoir system scheduling in hydro-power plants

This paper tackles the short-term hydro-power unit commitment problem in a multi-reservoir system ? a cascade-based operation scenario. For this, we propose a new mathematical modeling in which the goal is to maximize the total energy production of the hydro-power plant in a sub-daily operation, and, simultaneously, to maximize the total water content (volume) of reservoirs. For solving the problem, we discuss the Multi-objective Evolutionary Swarm Hybridization (MESH) algorithm, a recently proposed multi-objective swarm intelligence-based optimization method which has obtained very competitive results when compared to existing evolutionary algorithms in specific applications. The MESH approach has been applied to find the optimal water discharge and the power produced at the maximum reservoir volume for all possible combinations of turbines in a hydro-power plant. The performance of MESH has been compared with that of well-known evolutionary approaches such as NSGA-II, NSGA-III, SPEA2, and MOEA/D in a realistic problem considering data from a hydro-power energy system with two cascaded hydro-power plants in Brazil. Results indicate that MESH showed a superior performance than alternative multi-objective approaches in terms of efficiency and accuracy, providing a profit of $412,500 per month in a projection analysis carried out.European CommissionAgencia Estatal de InvestigaciónComunidad de Madri

Bariatric Surgery Influences beta-Cell Turnover in Non Obese Rats.

Manuscrito en proceso de revisión editorialThe aim of this study was to investigate the different bariatric surgeries relationship with pancreatic beta-cell turnover. We used healthy adult male Wistar rats to undergo the different techniques. We developed three surgical techniques (malabsorptive, Sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-Y Gastric Bypass-), and two control groups (Sham and fasting control). Pancreatic beta-cell mass was measured, as well as apoptosis, proliferation and neogenesis related to cellular turnover. Otherwise, we measured the functional issues to elucidate the physiological role that these surgical techniques trigger in the carbohydrate metabolism (e.g. food intake, weight gain, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, and basal glycaemia). Results included the differences that these parameters underwent in each surgical model. The -cell mass presented modifications that were related with proliferation processes. We reported significant increase of -cell mass in the malabsorptive technique. Other while the peripheral resistance to insulin trended to reduce in rats underwent with malabsorptive and mixed techniques. The goal of the present study was to present how different bariatric surgical techniques affected on pancreatic beta-cell turnover. We considered that these implications of surgery over the endocrine pancreas must be one of the mechanisms related to the improvement of type 2 Diabetes mellitus afterward the bariatric surgery.41 paginas, que recogen toda la documentación enviada a consideración editoria

Enzymatic synthesis of sugar esters and their potential as surface-active stabilizers of coconut milk emulsions

Sugar esters are compounds with surfactant properties (biosurfactants), i.e., capable of reducing the surface tension and promote the emulsification of immiscible liquids. On the other hand, as with all emulsions, coconut milk is not physically stable and is prone to phase separation. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the synthesis of fructose, sucrose and lactose esters from the corresponding sugars using Candida antarctica type B lipase immobilized in two different supports, namely acrylic resin and chitosan, and evaluate its application in the stabilization of coconut milk emulsions. The enzyme immobilized on chitosan showed the highest yield of lactose ester production (84.1%). Additionally, the production of fructose ester was found to be higher for the enzyme immobilized on the acrylic resin support (74.3%) as compared with the one immobilized on chitosan (70.1%). The same trend was observed for the sucrose ester, although with lower percentage yields. Sugar esters were then added to samples of fresh coconut milk and characterized according to their surface tension, emulsification index and particle size distribution. Although the microscopic analysis showed similar results for all sugar esters, results indicated lactose ester as the best biosurfactant, with a surface tension of 38.0 N/m and an emulsification index of 54.1%, when used in a ratio of 1:10 (biosurfactant: coconut milk, v/v) for 48 hour experiments.The authors acknowledge the AlBan Programme (European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America) for financial support of N. Lopes through the research grant E07D401544BR. Furthermore, the authors acknowledge the Chemical Engineering Department e Federal University of Ceara (Campus of Pici - Brazil) and Biotechnology Laboratory - Federal University of Ceara for enabling the use of their laboratory facilities