Search results for: António Dinis Ferreira

Authors: Fernanda Laureti T. Ferreira, Kazuo Nishimoto

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This paper presents a summary of the experience on videoconferencing tools that have been used to teach regular classes during this pandemic period in educational institutions in São Paulo, which tools and applications are most used and the challenges related to this mode of delivery. At this moment, the massive online education is not a choice of students or a structured development of education system, but a solution that emerged to attend urgent needs and it presents the opportunity to teach and learning available for the most students in this single time of social isolation that forced among others, this significant change for education, students, teachers, institutions and families. Distance education enables synchronous and asynchronous mode classes, and even though the current circumstances generate discomfort and uncertainty, on the other hand, there is a chance to promote a 'learning to learn'. The videoconference is a preferred choice of schools because synchronous mode to give more interaction between a group of students and teachers, but this mode requires specifics teacher competencies and skills, in addition to equipment and provision of adequate internet signal for all participants of the process. The approach is making use of known technical information about video conference tools and the results of search answered by a group of students, teachers, schools, and parents. The results presented refer to the perspectives of students and parents as respondents.

Keywords: distance education, interaction on education, online classes, synchronous e-learning, videoconference

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Authors: W. Nataniel, B. Lima, J. Manoel, M. P. Filho, H. Marcos, Oliveira Mauricio, P. Ferreira

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Headed reinforcement bars are increasingly used for anchorage in concrete structures. Applications include connections in composite steel-concrete structures, such as beam-column joints, in several strengthening situations as well as in more traditional uses in cast-in-place and precast structural systems. This paper investigates the reduction in the ultimate tensile capacity of embedded cast-in headed anchors due to concrete cracking. A series of nine laboratory tests are carried out to evaluate the influence of cracking on the concrete breakout strength in tension. The experimental results show that cracking affects both the resistance and load-slip response of the headed bar anchors. The strengths measured in these tests are compared to theoretical resistances calculated following the recommendations presented by fib Bulletin no. 58 (2011), ETAG 001 (2010) and ACI 318 (2014). The influences of parameters such as the effective embedment depth (h_ef), bar diameter (d_s), and the concrete compressive strength (f_c) are analysed and discussed. The theoretical recommendations are shown to be over-conservative for both embedment depths and were, in general, inaccurate in comparison to the experimental trends. The ACI 318 (2014) was the design code which presented the best performance regarding to the predictions of the ultimate load, with an average of 1.42 for the ratio between the experimental and estimated strengths, standard deviation of 0.36, and coefficient of variation equal to 0.25.

Keywords: cast-in headed anchors, concrete cone failure, uncracked concrete, cracked concrete

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Authors: Santiago Moll Lopez, Erica Vega Fleitas, Dolors Rosello Ferragud, Luis Manuel Sanchez Ruiz, Jose Antonio Moraño Fernandez

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Game-based learning (GBL) is becoming popular in education. Learning through games offers students a motivating experience related to the social aspect of games. Among the significant positive outcomes are promoting positive emotions and collaboration, improving the assimilation of concepts, and creating an attractive and dynamic environment standout. This work presents a study of the design and implementation of games created with RPG Maker MZ software with a Sci-Fi storytelling environment for developing specific and transversal skills in a Mathematics subject at the Beng in Aerospace Engineering. Games were applied during regular classes and as a part of a Flip-Teaching methodology to increase the motivation and the assimilation of mathematical concepts in an engaging way. The key features of the games were the introduction of avatar design and the promotion of collaboration among students. Students' opinions and grades obtained in the activities and exams showed increased motivation and a significant improvement in their performance compared with other groups or past students' performances.

Keywords: game-based learning, rol games, mathematics, science fiction

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Authors: Henrique Gomes dos Santos, Manoel Henrique Alves, Jane Zoppas Ferreira, Annelise Kopp Alves

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This work aimed to seek an environmentally sustainable surface coating alternative by researching the influence of the addition of graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) on the silanization of coatings to increase the wear resistance in galvanized steel, using the pin-on-disk test. The results obtained were compared between different concentrations of additives and the number of coating layers, in addition to comparing with samples without coating and only with silane layers. Bis-1,2-(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTSE) silane was used in silanizing the coatings with CNT or GO and applied to the samples through dip-coating to form one, four, or eight layers. The wear test results found that three samples stood out in relation to the objective, showing an increase in wear resistance compared to the galvanized sample only. The rolling effect and the lubricity character presented by carbon nanotubes were positive for the increase in wear resistance obtained. The reduction in wear compared to the galvanized-only sample reached 82%. Raman spectroscopy was also carried out to detect the presence of silane, GO, and CNT, in addition to roughness tests and SEM to assess the homogeneity of the coating. The carbonaceous additives, graphene oxide, and carbon nanotubes in certain amounts of layers and specific concentrations fulfilled their objective against the wear imposed on the substrate.

Keywords: silane, coating, graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, wear resistance

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Authors: Luciana Brandao Ferreira, Janaina de Moura Engracia Giraldi, Fabiana Gondim Mariutti, Marina Toledo de Arruda Lourencao

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Developing countries, such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are hosting sports mega-events to promote socio-economic development and image enhancement. Thus, this paper aims to verify the image of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, as the host city of 2016 Olympic Games, considering the main cognitive and affective image dimensions. The research design uses exploratory factorial analysis to find the most important factors highlighted in the city image dimensions. The data were collected by structured questionnaires with an international respondents sample (n=274) with high international travel experience. The results show that Rio’s image as a sport mega-event host city has two main factors in each dimension: Cognitive ('General Infrastructure'; 'Services and Attractions') and Affective ('Positive Feelings'; 'Negative Feelings'). The most important factor related to cognitive dimension was 'Services and Attractions' which is more related to tourism activities. In the affective dimension 'Positive Feelings' was the most important factor, which means a good result considering that is a city in an emerging country with many unmet social demands.

Keywords: Rio de Janeiro, 2016 olympic games, host city image, cognitive image dimension, affective image dimension

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Authors: Mafalda Fabiene Ferreira Pantoja, Joao Da Costa Pantoja, Rui Humberto Costa De Fernandes Povoas

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The present paper seeks to present a theoretical and practical reflection about examples of contemporary architecture in the world context where concerns about the planet become prominent and increasingly necessary. Firstly, a brief introduction will be made on the conceptual principles of tectonics in architecture in order to apply such concepts in a perspective of analysis of the intersection between design and construction in contemporary examples of Norman Foster’s architecture, once his work has demonstrated attitudes of composition that concerns about the place, technology, materials, and building life. Foster's compositions are usually focused on the role of technology in the process of architectural design, making his works a mixture of place, program, construction, and formal structures. The main purpose of the present paper is the reflection on the tools of theoretical and practical analysis about tectonics, optimizing the resources that allow cultural anchoring and creation of identity. Also establishing relation between resources, building life cycle and employment of correct materials, in order to find out how the tectonic concept can elevate the status of contemporary architecture, making it qualitative in a more sustainable context and adapted to current needs.

Keywords: contemporary architecture, norman foster, tectonic, sustainable architecture

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Authors: Daniel José de Oliveira Ferreira, Juan Harold Sosa-Arnao, Bruno Cássio Moreira, Leonardo Paes Rangel, Song Won Park

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The comprehensive CFD models have been used to represent and study the heterogeneous combustion of biomass. In the present work, the operation of a global flue gas circuit in the sugar-cane bagasse combustion, from wind boxes below primary air grate supply, passing by bagasse insertion in swirl burners and boiler furnace, to boiler bank outlet is simulated. It uses five different meshes representing each part of this system located in sequence: wind boxes and grate, boiler furnace, swirl burners, super heaters and boiler bank. The model considers turbulence using standard k-ε, combustion using EDM, radiation heat transfer using DTM with 16 ray directions and bagasse particle tracking represented by Schiller-Naumann model. The results showed good agreement with expected behavior found in literature and equipment design. The more detailed results view in separated parts of flue gas system allows to observe some flow behaviors that cannot be represented by usual simplifications like bagasse supply under homogeneous axial and rotational vectors and others that can be represented using new considerations like the representation of 26 thousand grate orifices by 144 rectangular inlets.

Keywords: comprehensive CFD model, sugar-cane bagasse combustion, sugar-cane bagasse grate boiler, axial

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Authors: Carlos A. Domínguez Torres, Antonio Domínguez Delgado

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In this work we study the thermodynamic behavior of some ventilated facades under summer operating conditions in Southern Spain. Under these climatic conditions, indoor comfort implies a high energetic demand due to high temperatures that usually are reached in this season in the considered geographical area. The aim of this work is to determine if during summer operating conditions in Southern Spain, ventilated façades provide some energy saving compared to the non-ventilated façades and to deduce their behavior patterns in terms of energy efficiency. The modeling of the air flow in the channel has been performed by using Navier-Stokes equations for thermodynamic flows. Numerical simulations have been carried out with a 2D Finite Element approach. This way, we analyze the behavior of ventilated façades under different weather conditions as variable wind, variable temperature and different levels of solar irradiation. CFD computations show that the combined effect of the shading of the external wall and the ventilation by the natural convection into the air gap achieve a reduction of the heat load during the summer period. This reduction has been evaluated by comparing the thermodynamic performances of two ventilated and two unventilated façades with the same geometry and thermophysical characteristics.

Keywords: passive cooling, ventilated façades, energy-efficient building, CFD, FEM

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Authors: Leonardo C. Pacheco-Londoño, Nataly J. Galan-Freyle, Lisandro Pacheco-Lugo, Antonio Acosta, Elkin Navarro, Gustavo Aroca-Martínez, Karin Rondón-Payares, Samuel P. Hernández-Rivera

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In our Life Science Research Center of the University Simon Bolivar (LSRC), one of the focuses is the diagnosis and prognosis of different diseases; we have been implementing the use of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) for various biomedical applications. In this case, Au-NPs were used for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) in different diseases' diagnostics, such as Lupus Nephritis (LN), hypertension (H), preeclampsia (PC), and others. This methodology is proposed for the diagnosis of each disease. First, good signals of the different metabolites by SERS were obtained through a mixture of urine samples and Au-NPs. Second, PLS-DA models based on SERS spectra to discriminate each disease were able to differentiate between sick and healthy patients with different diseases. Finally, the sensibility and specificity for the different models were determined in the order of 0.9. On the other hand, a second methodology was developed using machine learning models from all data of the different diseases, and, as a result, a discriminant spectral map of the diseases was generated. These studies were possible thanks to joint research between two university research centers and two health sector entities, and the patient samples were treated with ethical rigor and their consent.

Keywords: SERS, Raman, PLS-DA, diseases

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Authors: Meryem Abi-Ayad, Biagio Arcidiacono, Eusebio Chiefari, Daniela Foti, Mohamed Benyoucef, Antonio Brunetti

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Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) is a key enzyme for lipid metabolism; its genetic polymorphism can be a candidate for modulating lipids parameters in metabolic syndrome. The objective of the present study was to determine whether lipoproteins lipase polymorphisMetS (LPL-HindIII) could be associated with moderate hypertriglyceridemia (secondary to metabolism syndrome). The polymorphism Hind III (rs320) was assessed by PCR-RFLP in 51 MetS patients and 17 healthy controls from the hospital in Tlemcen. The logistic regression analyses showed no significant association with Hind III genotype and hypertriglyceridemia (TG ≥ 1,5g/l or TG lower treatment) (P=0,455), metabolic syndrome (P=0,455), hypertension (P=0,802) and type 2 diabetes (P=0,144). In terms of plasma biomarkers, although not statistically significant, there was a difference in TG levels (P > 0,05), which was lowest among carriers of the homogenous mutant allele (H-). In this study, there was no association between the rare allele (H-) and disease protection, and between the frequent allele (H+) and disease prevalence (hypertriglyceridemia, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, type 2 diabetes).

Keywords: moderate secondary hypertriglyceridemia, metabolic syndrome, lipids, polymorphism lipoprotein lipase, HindIII(rs320)

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Authors: Lidia Sanchis-Marco, Antonio Rubia, Pedro Serrano

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This paper studies the informational content of pricing errors in the term structure of sovereign CDS spreads. The residuals from a non-arbitrage model are employed to construct a Price discrepancy estimate, or noise measure. The noise estimate is understood as an indicator of market distress and reflects frictions such as illiquidity. Empirically, the noise measure is computed for an extensive panel of CDS spreads. Our results reveal an important fraction of systematic risk is not priced in default swap contracts. When projecting the noise measure onto a set of financial variables, the panel-data estimates show that greater price discrepancies are systematically related to a higher level of offsetting transactions of CDS contracts. This evidence suggests that arbitrage capital flows exit the marketplace during time of distress, and this consistent with a market segmentation among investors and arbitrageurs where professional arbitrageurs are particularly ineffective at bringing prices to their fundamental values during turbulent periods. Our empirical findings are robust for the most common CDS pricing models employed in the industry.

Keywords: credit default swaps, noise measure, illiquidity, capital arbitrage

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Authors: Brenda R. Berca, Jessica S. Vieira, Lucas G. Candido, Matheus C. Ferreira, Paulo S. A. Lopes Filho, Rafaella O. Baracho

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This study aims to estimate the economic value environmental services sustained by Flamboyant Lourival Louza Municipal Park in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. The Flamboyant Park is one of the most relevant urban parks, and it is located near a stadium, a shopping center, and two supercenters. In order to define the methods used for the valuation of Flamboyant Park, the first step was carrying out bibliographical research with the view to better understand which method is most feasible to valuate the Park. Thus, the following direct methods were selected: travel cost, hedonic pricing, and contingent valuation. In addition, an indirect method (replacement cost) was applied at Flamboyant Park. The second step was creating and applying two surveys. The first survey aimed at the visitors of the park, addressing socio-economic issues, the use of the Park, as well as its importance and the willingness the visitors, had to pay for its existence. The second survey was destined to the existing trade in the Park, in order to collect data regarding the profits obtained by them. In the end, the characterization of the profile of the visitors and the application of the methods of contingent valuation, travel cost, replacement cost and hedonic pricing were obtained, thus monetarily valuing the various ecosystem services sustained by the park. Some services were not valued due to difficulties encountered during the process.

Keywords: contingent valuation, ecosystem services, economic environmental valuation, hedonic pricing, travel cost

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Authors: L. Paulino Ferreira, M. Gomes Neto, M. Duarte, S. Serra

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Objectives: COVID-19 pandemic has caused older adults to experience a degree of social isolation and loneliness that is unprecedented. Our aim is to review state of the art regarding the consequences of social isolation due to COVID-19 in elderly people. Methods: The authors conducted a search on Medscape and PubMed with the keywords mentioned below, and the most relevant articles were selected. Results: Social isolation leads many elderlies to experience loneliness, anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, and feelings of abandonment with a perception of being a burden on society. Thus, social isolation has increased the risk for suicide in older people. It is also noteworthy that the exacerbation of psychiatric disorders (such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder) without correct treatment and follow-up also increases suicide risk. Loneliness is also associated with accelerated cognitive deterioration and dementia. Besides that, during social isolation, it could be more difficult for older people to get medication as well as proper health care. It is also noticed an increase in the risk of falls, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise. All this contributes to weakening elderlies’ immune systems leading to a higher risk of developing infections, cardiovascular events, and cancer, increasing hospitalization and morbimortality. Conclusion: Social isolation in the elderly has a significant impact on physical and mental health, as well as morbimortality and hospitalizations due to non-COVID causes. Nevertheless, further studies will be needed to assess the real dimension of the effects of social isolation due to COVID-19.

Keywords: social isolation, COVID-19, elderly, mental health

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Authors: Viviana Manzulli, Luigina Serrecchia, Adelia Donatiello, Valeria Rondinone, Sabine Zange, Alina Tscherne, Antonio Parisi, Antonio Fasanella

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Anthrax is a zoonotic disease that affects a wide range of animal species (primarily ruminant herbivores), and can be transmitted to humans through consumption or handling of contaminated animal products. The etiological agent B.anthracis is able to survive in unfavorable environmental conditions by forming endospore which remain viable in the soil for many decades. Furthermore, B.anthracis is considered as one of the most feared agents to be potentially misused as a biological weapon and the importance of the disease and its treatment in humans has been underscored before the bioterrorism events in the United States in 2001. Due to the often fatal outcome of human cases, antimicrobial susceptibility testing plays especially in the management of anthrax infections an important role. In Italy, animal anthrax is endemic (predominantly found in the southern regions and on islands) and is characterized by sporadic outbreaks occurring mainly during summer. Between 2012 and 2017 single human cases of cutaneous anthrax occurred. In this study, 90 diverse strains of B.anthracis, isolated in Italy from 2001 to 2017, were screened to their susceptibility to sixteen clinically relevant antimicrobial agents by using the broth microdilution method. B.anthracis strains selected for this study belong to the strain collection stored at the Anthrax Reference Institute of Italy located inside the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Puglia and Basilicata. The strains were isolated at different time points and places from various matrices (human, animal and environmental). All strains are a representative of over fifty distinct MLVA 31 genotypes. The following antibiotics were used for testing: gentamicin, ceftriaxone, streptomycin, penicillin G, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, vancomycin, linezolid, cefotaxime, tetracycline, erythromycin, rifampin, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline and trimethoprim. A standard concentration of each antibiotic was prepared in a specific diluent, which were then twofold serial diluted. Therefore, each wells contained: bacterial suspension of 1–5x104 CFU/mL in Mueller-Hinton Broth (MHB), the antibiotic to be tested at known concentration and resazurin, an indicator of cell growth. After incubation overnight at 37°C, the wells were screened for color changes caused by the resazurin: a change from purple to pink/colorless indicated cell growth. The lowest concentration of antibiotic that prevented growth represented the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). This study suggests that B.anthracis remains susceptible in vitro to many antibiotics, in addition to doxycycline (MICs ≤ 0,03 µg/ml), ciprofloxacin (MICs ≤ 0,03 µg/ml) and penicillin G (MICs ≤ 0,06 µg/ml), recommend by CDC for the treatment of human cases and for prophylactic use after exposure to the spores. In fact, the good activity of gentamicin (MICs ≤ 0,25 µg/ml), streptomycin (MICs ≤ 1 µg/ml), clindamycin (MICs ≤ 0,125 µg/ml), chloramphenicol(MICs ≤ 4 µg/ml), vancomycin (MICs ≤ 2 µg/ml), linezolid (MICs ≤ 2 µg/ml), tetracycline (MICs ≤ 0,125 µg/ml), erythromycin (MICs ≤ 0,25 µg/ml), rifampin (MICs ≤ 0,25 µg/ml), amoxicillin (MICs ≤ 0,06 µg/ml), towards all tested B.anthracis strains demonstrates an appropriate alternative choice for prophylaxis and/or treatment. All tested B.anthracis strains showed intermediate susceptibility to the cephalosporins (MICs ≥ 16 µg/ml) and resistance to trimethoprim (MICs ≥ 128 µg/ml).

Keywords: Bacillus anthracis, antibiotic susceptibility, treatment, minimum inhibitory concentration

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Authors: Nunziata Ivana Guarneri, Arcangelo Bruna, Giuseppe Spampinato, Antonio Buemi

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In the last decade, automotive companies have invested a lot in terms of innovation about many aspects regarding the automatic driver assistance systems. One innovation regards the usage of a smart camera placed on the car’s side mirror for monitoring the back and lateral road situation. A common road scenario is the overtaking of the preceding car and, in this case, a brief distraction or a loss of concentration can lead the driver to undertake this action, even if there is an already overtaking vehicle, leading to serious accidents. A valid support for a secure drive can be a smart camera system, which is able to automatically analyze the road scenario and consequentially to warn the driver when another vehicle is overtaking. This paper describes a method for monitoring the side view of a vehicle by using camera optical flow motion vectors. The proposed solution detects the presence of incoming vehicles, assesses their distance from the host car, and warns the driver through different levels of alert according to the estimated distance. Due to the low complexity and computational cost, the proposed system ensures real time performances.

Keywords: camera calibration, ego-motion, Kalman filters, object tracking, real time systems

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Authors: Antonio B.Tangayan Jr., Hershey P. Mondejar, Pet Roey Pascual, Zeam Voltaire E. Amper

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A study on in vitro larvicidal acitivity of different levels of Madre de Cacao (Gliricidia sepium) concentrated crude ethanolic extract (CCEE) against horn fly larvae (Haematobia irritans) was conducted. The air-dried leaves of Gliricidia sepium were infused in a 1:3 ratio (w/v) using ethanol as solvent and concentrated in a rotary evaporator (60°C). A total of 120 larvae of Haematobia irritans were exposed in various concentration: 200, 400, 800 and 1000 ppm. Based on the result after 5 hours of exposure, CCE G. sepium extract at 200 ppm showed less effect with 30% mortality compared to 400 ppm, 800 ppm and 1000 ppm with 70%, 83%, and 100% mortality, respectively. Findings also revealed that CCE of G. sepium extract at 1000 ppm, 800 ppm, and commercial larvicide were comparable in causing mortality of H. irritans larvae from the first hour up to the fifth hours of exposure. However, on the fifth hour, 400 ppm was also found to be effective. This suggests that the higher the concentration of CCE G. sepium extract and the longer the time of exposure, the higher is the percentage mortality of the larvae. Thus, CCE G. sepium extract can be used as an alternative for commercial larvicide.

Keywords: horn fly, in vitro, larvicidal, Madre de Cacao

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Authors: Fidel Lòpez Saca, Carlos Avilés-Cruz, Miguel Magos-Rivera, José Antonio Lara-Chávez

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Automated object recognition and identification systems are widely used throughout the world, particularly in assembly lines, where they perform quality control and automatic part selection tasks. This article presents the design and implementation of an object recognition system in an assembly line. The proposed shapes-color recognition system is based on deep learning theory in a specially designed convolutional network architecture. The used methodology involve stages such as: image capturing, color filtering, location of object mass centers, horizontal and vertical object boundaries, and object clipping. Once the objects are cut out, they are sent to a convolutional neural network, which automatically identifies the type of figure. The identification system works in real-time. The implementation was done on a Raspberry Pi 3 system and on a Jetson-Nano device. The proposal is used in an assembly course of bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. The results presented include studying the efficiency of the recognition and processing time.

Keywords: deep-learning, image classification, image identification, industrial engineering.

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Authors: Maria Elisabete Costa Ferreira

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Domestic violence is a serious social issue in which victims are mostly women. Domestic violence develops in cycles, starting with the building of tension, passing through the incident of abuse and ending with reconciliation, also known as honeymoon. As time goes by, the shorter these phases become, and the greater and more severe the attacks, rarely leading to the death of the victim of abuse. Sometimes, the victim stops the abuse by killing the aggressor, usually after the immediate aggression has taken place. This poses an important obstacle to the claim of self-defense by the victim of domestic violence pending trial for the homicide of her long-time abuser. The main problem with self-defense claims in such cases is that the law requires the act of aggression to be present or imminent (imminent threat or immediate danger) so that it permits the victim to take her defense into her own hands. If the episode of aggression has already taken place, this general requirement for the admissibility of self-defense is not satisfied. This paper sheds new light on the concept of the actuality of the aggression, understanding that, since domestic violence is a permanent offense, for as long as the victim stays under the domain of the aggressor, imminent threat will be present, allowing the self-defense claim of a woman who kills her abuser in such circumstances to be admissible. An actualist interpretation of the requirement of the necessity of the means used in self-defense will be satisfied when evaluated from the subjective perspective of the intimate partner victim. Necessity will be satisfied if it is reasonable for the victim to perceive the use of lethal force as the only means to release herself from the abuser.

Keywords: domestic violence, homicide, self-defense, imminent threat, necessity of lethal force

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Authors: Luiz Antonio Da Costa Rodrigues, Mara Aparecida De Castilho Lopes, Alexandre Santos Alencar

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Teaching of science must transcend simple transmission of fundamental concepts and allow scientific literacy, as a process for understanding the human being as an integral part of a complex and interdependent whole. In this context, approaching the theme ‘Antarctica’ in deaf education is an important advance for teaching, considering that that continent has direct interactions with the climatic and environmental system of the planet. Therefore, textbooks can be important tools to enable the Deaf Community to access the discussion about the natural environment. A specific script was used to analyze textbooks adopted by schools in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region. Results show that none of the 14 analyzed books have a specific chapter on the theme, some presents images of the continent without reference to their environmental importance, and the complementary texts present in the analyzed material do not address the theme either. It is concluded that the study on Antarctica and global changes in elementary education is still incipient and the material used by most Brazilian public schools does not contemplate that subject in an accessible way for the deaf person. This fact represents the distance between deaf students and their environment, denoting the need for actions to promote that and other neglected themes in Science teaching.

Keywords: Antarctica, deaf education, science teaching, textbook

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Authors: Yasir Khan, Qiu Bin, Antonio-Mihi Ramirez

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This study determines the inflow of international students to China in recent years and the corresponding internationalization strategies in the higher education sector. China has placed attracting international students on in its plan along with the growing of global impact. Acknowledging the stable economy, growth rate, trade, lower renminbi rate, high wages, employment opportunities, high level income per capita, relative low taxes and political system consolidate to attract more international students. A large number of international students making a vast contribution to the higher education sector of China. Understanding the significance of education mission as well as of financial ‘bottom line’ the Chinese government gave great importance to invite more international students from worldwide. The large number of international students in the China has been particularly notable from Asian countries specifically neighboring countries, Pakistan, Thailand, India, Vietnam, South Korea, Magnolia, Malaysia, and Russia. This study summarizes internationalization of higher education in China and also provides directions for future research in this regard.

Keywords: international student mobility, 2020 Govt Planning, emerging market, internationalization of higher education

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Authors: Khaoula Azraiel, Mohamed Mehdi Abassi, Amel Sadraoui, Walid Hammami, Azouz Msaddek, Imed Cheikh, Maria Mancebo, Elisabet Perez-Navarro, Antonio Caruz, Henda Triki, Ahlem Djebbi

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IL28B rs12979860 genotype is confirmed as an important predictor of response to peginterferon/ribavirin therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). IFNL4 ss469415590 is a newly discovered polymorphism that could also affect the sustained virological response (SVR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of IL28B and IFNL4 genotypes with peginterferon/ribavirin treatment response in Tunisians patients with CHC and to determine which of these SNPs, was the stronger marker. A total of 120 patients were genotyped for both rs12979860 and ss469415590 polymorphisms. The association of each genetic marker with SVR was analyzed and comparison between the two SNPs was calculated by logistic regression models. For rs12979860, 69.6% of patients with CC, 41.8% with CT and 42.8% with TT achieved SVR (p = 0.003). Regarding ss469415590, 70.4% of patients with TT/TT genotype achieved SVR compared to 42.8% with TT/ΔG and 37.5% with ΔG /ΔG (p = 0.002). The presence of CC and TT/TT genotypes was independently associated with treatment response with an OR of 3.86 for each. In conclusion, both IL28B rs12979860 and IFNL4 ss469415590 variants were associated with response to pegIFN/RBV in Tunisian patients, without any additional benefit in performance for IFNL4. Our results are different from those detected in Sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, IFNL4, IL28B, Peginterferon/ribavirin, polymorphism

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Authors: Antonio Breda d’Azevedo

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Regularity has often been present in the form of regular polyhedra or tessellations; classical examples are the nine regular polyhedra consisting of the five Platonic solids (regular convex polyhedra) and the four Kleper-Poinsot polyhedra. These polytopes can be seen as regular maps. Maps are cellular embeddings of graphs (with possibly multiple edges, loops or dangling edges) on compact connected (closed) surfaces with or without boundary. The n-dimensional abstract polytopes, particularly the regular ones, have gained popularity over recent years. The main focus of research has been their symmetries and regularity. Planification of polyhedra helps its spatial construction, yet it destroys its symmetries. To our knowledge there is no “planification” for n-dimensional polytopes. However we show that it is possible to make a “surfacification” of the n-dimensional polytope, that is, it is possible to construct a restrictedly-marked map representation of the abstract polytope on some surface that describes its combinatorial structures as well as all of its symmetries. We also show that there are infinitely many ways to do this; yet there is one that is more natural that describes reflections on the sides ((n−1)-faces) of n-simplices with reflections on the sides of n-polygons. We illustrate this construction with the 4-tetrahedron (a regular 4-polytope with automorphism group of size 120) and the 4-cube (a regular 4-polytope with automorphism group of size 384).

Keywords: abstract polytope, automorphism group, N-simplicies, symmetry

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Authors: Julio C. Ferreira, Maria T. A. Steiner

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The aim of this work is to present a solution procedure referred to here as the Multi-objective Optimization for Green Vehicle Routing Problem (MOOGVRP) to provide solutions for a case study. The proposed methodology consists of three stages to resolve Scenario A. Stage 1 consists of the “treatment” of data; Stage 2 consists of applying mathematical models of the p-Median Capacitated Problem (with the objectives of minimization of distances and homogenization of demands between groups) and the Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (with the objectives of minimizing distances and minimizing time). The weighted method was used as the multi-objective procedure. In Stage 3, an analysis of the results is conducted, taking into consideration the environmental aspects related to the case study, more specifically with regard to fuel consumption and air pollutant emission. This methodology was applied to a (partial) database that addresses newspaper distribution in the municipality of Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil. The preliminary findings for Scenario A showed that it was possible to improve the distribution of the load, reduce the mileage and the greenhouse gas by 17.32% and the journey time by 22.58% in comparison with the current scenario. The intention for future works is to use other multi-objective techniques and an expanded version of the database and explore the triple bottom line of sustainability.

Keywords: Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem, Green Vehicle Routing Problem, Multi-objective Optimization, p-Median Capacitated Problem

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Authors: Daniele Contini, Antonio Donateo, Andrea Gambaro, Athanasios Argiriou, Dimitrios Melas, Daniela Cesari, Anastasia Poupkou, Athanasios Karagiannidis, Apostolos Tsakis, Eva Merico, Rita Cesari, Adelaide Dinoi

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Emissions of atmospheric pollutants from ships and harbour activities are a growing concern at International level given their potential impacts on air quality and climate. These close-to-land emissions have potential impact on local communities in terms of air quality and health. Recent studies show that the impact of maritime traffic to atmospheric particulate matter concentrations in several coastal urban areas is comparable with the impact of road traffic of a medium size town. However, several different approaches have been used for these estimates making difficult a direct comparison of results. In this work an integrated approach based on emission inventories and dedicated measurement campaigns has been applied to give a comparable estimate of the impact of maritime traffic to PM2.5 and particle number concentrations in three major harbours of the Adriatic/Ionian Seas. The influences of local meteorology and of the logistic layout of the harbours are discussed.

Keywords: ship emissions, PM2.5, particle number concentrations, impact of shipping to atmospheric aerosol

Procedia PDF Downloads 753

Authors: Luiz Daniel Garay Trindade, Antonio De Freitas Valle Neto, Fabio Paulo Basso, Elder De Macedo Rodrigues, Maicon Bernardino, Daniel Welfer, Daniel Muller

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Agriculture plays an important role in society since it is one of the main sources of food in the world. To help the production and yield of crops, precision agriculture makes use of technologies aiming at improving productivity and quality of agricultural commodities. One of the problems hampering quality of agricultural production is the disease affecting crops. Failure in detecting diseases in a short period of time can result in small or big damages to production, causing financial losses to farmers. In order to provide a map of the contributions destined to the early detection of plant diseases and a comparison of the accuracy of the selected studies, a systematic literature review of the literature was performed, showing techniques for digital image processing and neural networks. We found 35 interesting tool support alternatives to detect disease in 19 plants. Our comparison of these studies resulted in an overall average accuracy of 87.45%, with two studies very closer to obtain 100%.

Keywords: pattern recognition, image processing, deep learning, precision agriculture, smart farming, agricultural automation

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Ana Ferreira, Ines Costa, Patricia Polónia, Josué Pereira, Olinda Faria, Pedro Alberto Silva

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Introduction: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual field tools are pivotal in evaluating neurological deficits and predicting potential visual improvement following surgical decompression in neurosurgical patients. Despite their clinical significance, a comprehensive understanding of their utility in this context is lacking in the literature. This study aims to elucidate the applications of OCT and visual field assessment, delineating distinct patterns of visual deficit presentations within the studied cohort. Methods: This retrospective analysis considered all adult patients who underwent a single surgery for pituitary adenoma or anterior skull base meningioma with optic nerve involvement, coupled with neuro-ophthalmology evaluation, between July 2020 and January 2023. A minimum follow-up period of 6 months was deemed essential. Results: A total of 24 patients, with a median age of 61, were included in the analysis. Three primary patterns emerged: 1) Low visual field involvement with compromised OCT, 2) High visual field involvement with relatively unaffected OCT, and 3) Significant compromise observed in both OCT and visual fields. Conclusion: This study delineates various findings in OCT and visual field assessments with illustrative examples. Based on the current findings, a prospective cohort will be systematically collected to further investigate and validate these patterns and their prognostic significance, enhancing our understanding of the utility of OCT and visual fields in neurosurgical patients.

Keywords: OCT, neurosurgery, visual field, optic nerve

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Antonio Gioiosa, Simone Doanti, Eric Flumerfelt, Luca Morescalchi, Elena Pedreschi, Gianantonio Pezzullo, Ryan A. Rivera, Franco Spinella

Abstract:

The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab aims to measure the charged-lepton flavour violating neutrino-less conversion of a negative muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. With the expected experimental sensitivity, Mu2e will improve the previous limit of four orders of magnitude. The Mu2e data acquisition (DAQ) system provides hardware and software to collect digitized data from the tracker, calorimeter, cosmic ray veto, and beam monitoring systems. Mu2e’s trigger and data acquisition system (TDAQ) uses otsdaq as its solution. developed at Fermilab, otsdaq uses the artdaq DAQ framework and art analysis framework, under-the-hood, for event transfer, filtering, and processing. Otsdaq is an online DAQ software suite with a focus on flexibility and scalability while providing a multi-user, web-based interface accessible through the Chrome or Firefox web browser. The detector read out controller (ROC) from the tracker and calorimeter stream out zero-suppressed data continuously to the data transfer controller (DTC). Data is then read over the PCIe bus to a software filter algorithm that selects events which are finally combined with the data flux that comes from a cosmic ray veto system (CRV).

Keywords: trigger, daq, mu2e, Fermilab

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: A. Ascenso, C. Silveira, B. Augusto, S. Rafael, S. Coelho, J. Ferreira, A. Monteiro, P. Roebeling, A. I. Miranda

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Innovative nature-based solutions (NBSs) can provide answers to the challenges that urban areas are currently facing due to urban densification and extreme weather conditions. The effects of NBSs are recognized and include improved quality of life, mental and physical health and improvement of air quality, among others. Part of the work developed in the scope of the UNaLab project, which aims to guide cities in developing and implementing their own co-creative NBSs, intends to assess the impacts of NBSs on air quality, using Eindhoven city as a case study. The state-of-the-art online air quality modelling system WRF-CHEM was applied to simulate meteorological and concentration fields over the study area with a spatial resolution of 1 km2 for the year 2015. The baseline simulation (without NBSs) was validated by comparing the model results with monitored data retrieved from the Eindhoven air quality database, showing an adequate model performance. In addition, land use changes were applied in a set of simulations to assess the effects of different types of NBSs. Finally, these simulations were compared with the baseline scenario and the impacts of the NBSs were assessed. Reductions on pollutant concentrations, namely for NOx and PM, were found after the application of the NBSs in the Eindhoven study area. The present work is particularly important to support public planners and decision makers in understanding the effects of their actions and planning more sustainable cities for the future.

Keywords: air quality, modelling approach, nature based solutions, urban area

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Daniel Ferreira, José M. Marques Oliveira, Filipe Oliveira

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Wear phenomena is critical in injection moulding processes, causing failure of the components, and making the parts more expensive with an additional wasting time. When very abrasive materials are being injected inside the steel mould’s cavities, such as polymers reinforced with abrasive fibres, the consequences of the wear are more evident. Maraging steel (1.2709) is commonly employed in moulding components to resist in very aggressive injection conditions. In this work, the wear performance of the SLM produced 1.2709 maraging steel reinforced by ultrafine titanium and tungsten carbide (TiC-WC), was investigated using a pin-on-disk testing apparatus. A polypropylene reinforced with 40 wt.% fibreglass (PP40) disk, was used as the counterpart material. The wear tests were performed at 40 N constant load and 0.4 ms-1 sliding speed at room temperature and humidity conditions. The experimental results demonstrated that the wear rate in the 18Ni300-TiC-WC composite is lower than the unreinforced 18Ni300 matrix. The morphology and chemical composition of the worn surfaces was observed by 3D optical profilometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The resulting debris, caused by friction, were also analysed by SEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Their morphology showed distinct shapes and sizes, which indicated that the wear mechanisms, may be different in maraging steel produced by casting and SLM. The coefficient of friction (COF) was recorded during the tests, which helped to elucidate the wear mechanisms involved.

Keywords: selective laser melting, nanocomposites, injection moulding, polypropylene with fibreglass

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Chunhong Zhao

Abstract:

Remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST) is vital to understand the land-atmosphere energy balance, hydrological cycle, and thus is widely used to describe the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. However, due to technical constraints, satellite thermal sensors are unable to provide LST measurement with both high spatial and high temporal resolution. Despite different downscaling techniques and algorithms to generate high spatiotemporal resolution LST. Four major metropolitan areas in Texas, USA: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin all demonstrate UHI effects. Different cities are expected to have varying SUHI effect during the urban development trajectory. With the help of the Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS archives, this study focuses on the spatial patterns of UHIs and the seasonal and annual variation of these metropolitan areas. With Gaussian model, and Local Indicators of Spatial Autocorrelations (LISA), as well as data fusion methods, this study identifies the hotspots and the trajectory of the UHI phenomenon of the four cities. By making comparison analysis, the result can help to alleviate the advent effect of UHI and formulate rational urban planning in the long run.

Keywords: spatiotemporal analysis, land surface temperature, urban heat island evaluation, metropolitan areas of Texas, USA

Procedia PDF Downloads 417