Energy resource management in smart buildings considering photovoltaic uncertainty

O aumento do consumo energético em edifícios residenciais tem levado a um maior foco nos métodos de eficiência energética. Deste modo, surge um sistema de gestão de energia residencial que poderá permitir controlar os recursos energéticos em pequena escala dos edifícios, levando a uma diminuição significativa dos custos energéticos através de um escalonamento eficiente. No entanto, a natureza intermitente das fontes de energia renováveis resulta num problema complexo. Para resolver este desafio, esta tese propõe um escalonamento energético baseado na otimização robusta, considerando a incerteza relacionada com a produção fotovoltaica. A otimização robusta é um método emergente e eficaz para lidar com a incerteza e apresenta soluções ótimas considerando o pior cenário da incerteza, ou seja, encontra a melhor solução entre todos os piores cenários possíveis. Um problema de Programação Linear Binária é inicialmente formulado para minimizar os custos do escalonamento energético. De seguida, o objetivo desta tese é transformar o modelo determinístico num problema robusto equivalente para proporcionar-lhe imunidade contra a incerteza associada à produção fotovoltaica. O modelo determinístico é, assim, transformado num modelo do pior cenário possível. Para validar a eficiência e a eficácia do modelo, a metodologia proposta foi implementada em dois cenários sendo cada um deles constituído por três casos de estudo de escalonamento de energia, para um horizonte de escalonamento a curto prazo. Os resultados da simulação demonstram que a abordagem robusta consegue, efetivamente, minimizar os custos totais de eletricidade do edifício, mitigando, simultaneamente, os obstáculos referentes à incerteza relacionada com a produção fotovoltaica. É também demonstrado que a estratégia desenvolvida permite o ajustamento do escalonamento dos recursos energéticos do edifício de acordo com o nível de robustez selecionado.The increase of energy demand in residential buildings has led to a higher focus on energy efficiency methods. This way, the home energy management system arises to control small-scale energy resources on buildings allowing a significant electricity bill decrease throughout efficient scheduling. However, the intermittent and uncertain nature of renewable energy sources results in a complex problem. To solve this challenge, this thesis proposes robust optimization-based scheduling considering the uncertainty in solar generation. Robust Optimization is a very recent and effective technique to deal with uncertainty and provides optimal solutions for the worst-case realization of the uncertain parameter, i.e., it finds the best solution among all the worst scenarios. A Mixed Binary Linear Programming problem is initially formulated to minimize the costs of the energy resource scheduling. Then, this thesis's purpose is to transform the deterministic model into a trackable robust counterpart problem to provide immunity against the photovoltaic output uncertainty. The deterministic model is transformed into the worst-case model. To validate the model’s efficiency and effectiveness, the proposed methodology was implemented in two scenarios with three different energy scheduling case studies for a short-term scheduling horizon. The simulation results demonstrate that the robust approach can effectively minimize the electricity costs of the building while mitigating the drawbacks associated with solar uncertainty. It also proves that the proposed strategy adjusts the energy scheduling according to the selected robustness level

A review on aggregation approaches of distributed energy resources

With the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) into the grid, the power system has suffered some changes to become more sustainable, flexible, and cost-effective. For this reason, a need for new ways of operating the power system is emerging. The control of DER such as PV power, controllable load, demand response (DR) programs, energy storage units, and electric vehicles will facilitate their integration by balancing operations in the electricity grid. The increase of DER is stressing the distributed nature of power systems, in terms of equipment and in terms of management and control. So, new entities such as aggregators are acting as mediators between endusers and grid operators to facilitate the management and control of the power system. This paper makes a review of different aggregation approaches that can be applied for the integration of the DER in the electric power system, based on recent literature. It focuses on the role of DR aggregators, load aggregators, and energy storage aggregators, and the concepts related to each of these topics are covered.N/

Case study of an energy-intensive consumer

The energy sector is one of the pillars of growth and development for industries and it has been increasing in the last decades. Due to the need of rationalizing energy in industries, the concept of energy efficiency arises. For a rational use of energy, it was created strategies and measures to reduce energy consumptions in a sustainable way – social, economic and environmental. To analyze these consumptions, this paper contains a case study of an energy intensive industrial installation. This study consists of analyzing all the energy consumptions of the installation, through the obtained values of energy indicators.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Alteração substancial de factos nas sociedades em relação ao grupo

A expansão dos grupos societários mudou, indubitavelmente, a prática empresarial. A industrialização, globalização, novas políticas e conceções económicas permitiram àqueles que outrora eram simples comerciantes construíssem uma maior estrutura de negócio. Tornando-se, os grupos societários, terreno fértil para a designada “criminalidade de empresa”, surgindo a necessidade do Direito Penal se adaptar e abranger as diversas formas da sua aparição penal. Assim, sempre que, para além de uma interferência legítima na gestão da sociedade dominada num quadro de planeamento estratégico e organizacional (que decorre da própria relação de grupo e da sua razão de ser), a sociedade-mãe vem, de facto, gerindo-a de forma contínua e efetiva. Devendo-lhe, por isso, ser imputada responsabilidade criminal na qualidade de “dona do negócio”, ou seja, porque participa na gestão da sociedade dominada ou porque substitui na gestão os administradores da sociedade subordinada faz com que esta não tenha o domínio da organização para a não comissão do facto punível. Factos que sendo descobertos pelo Tribunal no decurso de um processo penal podem desencadear uma alteração substancial dos factos constantes no libelo ou no despacho de pronúncia, o que, em última análise, implicará a abertura de um novo inquérito contra a sociedade dominante e a necessária absolvição da filial no processo penal em curso. Ou, por ventura, a condenação de uma ou outra como comparticipantes na comissão do mesmo facto punível, quando a acusação se dirija apenas contra uma delas. Não se abrindo mão de desideratos e princípios basilares do nosso Processo Penal. Concluindo-se que o levantamento do véu corporativo é o mecanismo dogmaticamente adequado a proteger a sociedade dominada, quando se prove que esta não se conduz/organiza autonomamente. Visando alcançar a sociedade dominante que a hetero-administra e a quem é censurável a prática do crime, respeitando-se, assim, todos os critérios jurídico-penais de imputação de responsabilidade às pessoas jurídicas vertidos no artigo 11º do Código Penal.The expansion of corporate groups, undoubtedly, changed business practice. Industrialization, globalization and new political and economic conceptions, allowed those who once were simple merchants to build an everincreasing business structure. Becoming, corporate groups, breeding ground for the designated “corporate crime”, emerging the need of Criminal Law adapt itself and cover the various forms of its legal appearance. So, where, in addition to a lawful interference in the management of the dominated company in a framework of strategic and organizational planning (which arises from the group relationship and their raison d’être), the parent company comes, in fact, managing it continuously and effectively. And must be attributed criminal responsibility to her as the "business owner", because participates in the management of dominated society or because overrides in the management of the subsidiary company their administrators. Therefore, the dominated company doesn’t have the domain of the organization for the commission of the crime. Facts that being discovered by the Court during criminal proceedings may trigger a substantial change of the facts contained in the indictment or in the pronunciation, which ultimately will lead to the opening of a new investigation against the parent company and the required absolution of the subsidiary company on the ongoing criminal process against her. Or, perchance, the charge of one or another companies as co-participants in the commission of the same fact, when the charge proceeds only against one of them. Not giving up of aims and basic principles of our Criminal Process. Concluding that, the lifting of the corporate veil is the appropriate mechanism to protect dominated company, when proven that she doesn’t leads or organizes independently. In order to reach the parent company that runs and manages her and who is objectionable by practice of the crime, thus respecting all legal criteria of attribution of criminal responsibility to legal entities, shed in article 11 of the Penal Code

Comportamento in vitro e caracterização morfológica de Ramularia areola

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos da temperatura e meios de cultura no índice de velocidade de crescimento micelial, produção de conídios e morfologia do fungo Ramularia areola. O estudo foi conduzido em condições de laboratório, com delineamento inteiramente casualizado, tendo quatro temperaturas e sete meios de cultura. Após o preparo de cada meio de cultura em placas de Petri, foi realizado a inoculação do fugo com discos de 2 mm de diâmetro contendo R. areola. As placas foram vedadas com filme PVC e incubadas com fotoperíodo de 12 h luz e 12 h escuro, com as respectivas temperaturas de cada tratamento. Foi avaliado o índice de velocidade de crescimento micelial (IVCM), número de conídios (NC) e características morfológicas de R. areola. Houve interação significativa entre os meios de cultura e temperatura para as variáveis IVCM e NC de R. areola, onde o meio que favoreceu o IVCM foi Arroz-Ágar (AA), enquanto que, o NC foi superior nos meios BDA e Suco vegetal ? (V8). O aspecto morfológico do fungo sofreu alterações evidentes na temperatura de 24ºC e em função dos meios de cultura. Com isso, verificou-se que as temperaturas 24 e 28ºC, os meios de cultura AA, BDA e V8 promoveram maior IVCM e NC de Ramularia areola

Neuroprotective effects of digested polyphenols from wild blackberry species

Abstract Purpose Blackberry ingestion has been demonstrated to attenuate brain degenerative processes with the benefits ascribed to the (poly)phenolic components. The aim of this work was to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of two wild blackberry species in a neurodegeneration cell model and compare them with a commercial variety. Methods This work encompasses chemical characterization before and after an in vitro digestion and the assessment of neuroprotection by digested metabolites. Some studies targeting redox/cell death systems were also performed to assess possible neuroprotective molecular mechanisms. Results The three blackberry extracts presented some quantitative differences in polyphenol composition that could be responsible for the different responses in the neurodegeneration cell model. Commercial blackberry extracts were ineffective but both wild blackberries, Rubus brigantinus and Rubus vagabundus, presented neuroprotective effects. It was verified that a diminishment of intracellular ROS levels, modulation of glutathione levels and activation of caspases occurred during treatment. The last effect suggests a preconditioning effect since caspase activation was not accompanied by diminution in cell death and loss of functionality. Conclusions This is the first time that metabolites obtained from an in vitro digested food matrix, and tested at levels approaching the concentrations found in human plasma, have been described as inducing an adaptative response

Adherence to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Portuguese-Speaking Countries

Funding Information: National Research Council–CNPq. Process: 159908/2019-1. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Strengthening strategies to improve adherence to the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in key populations constitutes a global health priority to be achieved across countries, especially in countries that share a high flow of people such as Brazil and Portugal. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with adherence to PrEP among MSM from two Portuguese-speaking countries, highlighting the opportunities and preventive strategies for the global health scenario. This was a cross-sectional analytical online survey conducted from January 2020 to May 2021 with MSM in Brazil and Portugal. For analysis of the data, the Poisson regression model was used to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR) for developing a model to evaluate the associated factors in both countries in a comparative and isolated way. Adherence to PrEP use corresponded to 19.5% (n = 1682) of the overall sample: 18.3% (n = 970) for Brazil and 21.5% (n = 712) for Portugal. Having more than two sex partners in the last 30 days (aPR: 30.87) and routinely undergoing HIV tests (aPR: 26.21) increased the use of this medication. Being an immigrant (PR: 1.36) and knowing the partner’s serological status (PR: 1.28) increased adherence to PrEP in Portugal, whereas, in Brazil, it was being an immigrant (PR: 0.83) and not knowing the serological status (PR: 2.24) that promoted the use of this medication. Our findings reinforce the need to invest in programs and strategies to improve access and adherence to PrEP, especially in key populations.publishersversionpublishe

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Trajetórias da Educomunicação nas Políticas Públicas e a Formação de seus Profissionais

Esta obra é composta com os trabalhos apresentados no primeiro subtema, TRAJETÓRIA – Educação para a Comunicação como Política pública, nas perspectivas da Educomunicação e da Mídia-Educação, do II Congresso Internacional de Comunicação e Educação. Os artigos pretendem propiciar trocas de informações e produzir reflexões com os leitores sobre os caminhos percorridos, e ainda a percorrer, tendo como meta a expansão e a legitimação das práticas educomunicativas e/ou mídia-educativas como política pública para o atendimento à formação de crianças, adolescentes, jovens e adultos, no Brasil e no mundo