Locally perceived hard global constraints in multi-agenty schedulling

We propose how to model enterprise facilities (like factories, warehouses, etc.) in a multi-product production/distribution network, capacity management at those facilities, and scheduling agents which act as enterprise managers, taking decisions that affect the available capacity. A coordination mechanism through which scheduling agents can locally perceive hard global temporal constraints is also proposed

Challenges and opportunities of decarbonization for the economic recovery post-pandemic: The question of directionality in innovation policies

Countries face a double challenge of unprecedented scale consisting in drastically reducing carbon emissions in the time of a generation, while recovering the economy from the worst pandemic crisis in a century. Innovation is key in the response to this double challenge. Innovation policies are increasingly directed at achieving both goals, as governments seek opportunities for transforming the economic structure along with decarbonization. We raise the question of the effect of the direction in the success of the policies for the sustainability transition to achieve the economic transformation. We start by analyzing the processes of change in the economic structure. We identify three possible strategies of transformation: decarbonization, dematerialization and digitalization. Then we compare the evolution of the economic complexity of Portugal, which aspires to transform its economy, with that of three countries that are respectively reference in each one of the three strategies: Denmark, The Netherlands, and Ireland. Successful strategies evidence specialization in products that involve extensive and sophisticated knowledge, produced with high connectivity to other activities and with low carbon footprint. Based on these results and informed by the theory, we propose a set of conditions—related to the promotion of connectivity to growing sectors, high social return technologies and variety— that need to be aligned in the direction of the policies in order to increase their potential for transformative change.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rethinking reusable resources

We address the common and recurring problem of data reuse, focusing on the following topics: (i) the current state of affairs (in particular, problems with data); (ii) requirements for change; (iii) the proposed solution (its problems and advantages, as well as related work in this area), including the canonical-, I/O-, and data transformation models; (iv) maintenance issues; (v) implementation and deployment aspects; (vi) conclusions and future directions, including results from work done so far and aspects that merit future work.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização química e físico-química de novos híbridos de Maracujá Amarelo.

O maracujá pertence à ordem Passiflorales, família Passifloraceae, gênero Passiflora. No Brasil, existem cerca de 150 espécies nativas de maracujá. As espécies mais cultivadas no Brasil e no mundo são os maracujás amarelo (Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg.), roxo (P. edulis f. edulis Sims), e doce (Passiflora alata Curtis), sendo a última de grande ocorrência silvestre no Brasil (Junqueira, 2006)

Qualidade do milho doce minimamente processado conservado sob diferentes atmosferas.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a influência de três atmosferas diferentes (2% O2 + 8% CO2, 4% O2 + 8% CO2 e atmosfera ambiente) na qualidade de milho verde do tipo doce minimamente processado, durante sua conservação a 5 °C. Foram utilizadas espigas de milho verde do tipo doce, híbrido do programa de melhoramento da Embrapa Milho e Sorgo com gene mutante sh2 (Embrapa HT1). O conteúdo de glicose, frutose, B-criptoxantina, firmeza e valor L* foram influenciadas somente pelo tempo de conservação. As atmosferas controladas foram eficientes em reduzir a perda de massa das espigas de milho doce e, pelos dados obtidos para o pH e acidez titulável, manteve a atividade respiratória reduzida em até três dias de armazenamento. O conteúdo de sacarose mais elevado nas espigas armazenadas em atmosfera ambiente pode, adicionalmente, indicar mais rápida degradação de amido e maior disponibilidade de substrato para a respiração. De modo geral, o uso da atmosfera controlada não influenciou nos teores de carotenóides totais. A atmosfera de 2% O2 e 8% CO2 apresentou maiores valores de b* e de firmeza. Todas as amostras de milho doce minimamente processado analisadas, independente das atmosferas de conservação, encontravam-se dentro dos limites microbiológicos aceitáveis especificados pela legislação. No entanto, a atmosfera de 2%O2 e 8%CO2 apresentou menores populações de coliformes a 35 °C, de bactérias aeróbias psicrotróficas e fungos filamentosos e leveduras, sendo, então, a mais indicada para a conservação pós-colheita dos milhos doces minimamente processados, durante nove dias

Caseous Calcification of the Mitral Annulus. A Review of Six Cases

Caseous calcification of the mitral annulus is a rare form of mitral annular calcification, whose etiology is not completely understood and which can lead to an erroneous diagnosis of intracardiac tumor. The authors describe the cases of six patients, five of them female, mean age 74.8 +/- 6.4 years (65-81). Four patients presented with heart failure, two with atrial fibrillation and five with hypertension. Round, echogenic images, 18-26 mm in their largest diameter with a central echolucent area, were identified by transthoracic echocardiography on the lateral and posterior segments of the mitral annulus. Severe mitral regurgitation was also found in four patients. Only three patients with severe mitral regurgitation and heart failure were operated on, and one patient refused surgical treatment. A caseous mass, similar to toothpaste, was obtained from the mitral annulus zone during surgery

Overspill avalanching in a dense reservoir network

Sustainability of communities, agriculture, and industry is strongly dependent on an effective storage and supply of water resources. In some regions the economic growth has led to a level of water demand which can only be accomplished through efficient reservoir networks. Such infrastructures are not always planned at larger scale but rather made by farmers according to their local needs of irrigation during droughts. Based on extensive data from the upper Jaguaribe basin, one of the world's largest system of reservoirs, located in the Brazilian semiarid northeast, we reveal that surprisingly it self-organizes into a scale-free network exhibiting also a power-law in the distribution of the lakes and avalanches of discharges. With a new self-organized-criticality-type model we manage to explain the novel critical exponents. Implementing a flow model we are able to reproduce the measured overspill evolution providing a tool for catastrophe mitigation and future planning

Conservação pós-colheita de espigas de milho verde minimamente processado sob diferentes temperaturas.

Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar o efeito de três temperaturas (5°C, 8°C e 11°C), na qualidade de híbridos de milho verde (Zea maiz L.) com endosperma normal, minimamente processado, durante oito dias de armazenamento, com avaliações a cada dois dias. Foram utilizadas espigas de dois híbridos, sendo um comercial da Sementes Agroceres (Ag 1051) e outro do programa de melhoramento da Embrapa Milho e Sorgo (Embrapa HT1). A temperatura de 5°C foi a que melhor preservou a qualidade das espigas dos híbridos de milho verde estudados, por proporcionar perda de massa reduzida e manutenção dos teores de sólidos solúveis, frutose e glicose. O híbrido Ag 1051 apresentou menor perda de massa, maiores valores de umidade e maior teor de frutose. O Embrapa HT1 apresentou maiores valores iniciais e finais para os teores de sólidos solúveis e maior valor para a coloração b*. O valor L*, que indica quãoclaro e escuro é produto, também diminuiu ao longo do armazenamento, indicando escurecimento das espigas ao longo do armazenamento