Search results for: Jorge Manuel de Oliveira Fernandes

Authors: Salete Martins Alves, José Josemar de Oliveira Junior

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The current efforts on design of lubricants are based in attending the new requirement of modern equipment with the focus on the choice of base oil and additives. Nowadays, there are different types of lubricant oils’ bases, such as mineral oils, synthetic oils, re-refined oils and vegetable oils. The lubrication in the boundary condition is controlled mainly by EP additives that interact with the surface forming very thin films. Therefore, the study’s goal is to evaluate the action of three EP additives, with different percentage of sulfur, on friction and wear reduction. They were evaluated in mineral and synthetic oils. Lubricants were prepared with synthetic and mineral oils and added 3 % and 5 % of EP additives. The friction and wear characteristics were studied using HFRR test. In this test, a normal load of 10 N was applied at a frequency of 20 Hz. The analysis of results has appointed that the percentage of sulfur in mineral oil has influenced on wear reduction. However, synthetic oil had good performance with low sulfur content.

Keywords: boundary lubrication, EP additives, sulfur, wear

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Authors: Leidy M. Aldana, Jorge E. Camargo

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Adversarial Machine Learning has gained importance in recent years as Cybersecurity has gained too, especially malware, it has affected different entities and people in recent years. This paper shows a literature review about defense methods created to prevent adversarial machine learning attacks, firstable it shows an introduction about the context and the description of some terms, in the results section some of the attacks are described, focusing on detecting adversarial examples before coming to the machine learning algorithm and showing other categories that exist in defense. A method with five steps is proposed in the method section in order to define a way to make the literature review; in addition, this paper summarizes the contributions in this research field in the last seven years to identify research directions in this area. About the findings, the category with least quantity of challenges in defense is the Detection of adversarial examples being this one a viable research route with the adaptive approach in attack and defense.

Keywords: Malware, adversarial, machine learning, defense, attack

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Authors: Jorge Eliseo Muñiz-Gutierrez, Daniel Olvera-García, Cristina Sotelo-Salas

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The objective of this research is to allow the understanding of the hybridization process shown in culture through the architecture of mass production for the purpose of consumption, taking as a case study the mass-built housing of the city of Mexicali, Mexico. The methodology is born from the hermeneutical study of the meta-modified architectural object, which guided the research with a qualitative focus to be carried out in two stages, the first is based on the literature review regarding cultural hybridization, and the second stage is carried out in through an ethnographic study of the cultural exploration of the contextual landscape produced by the houses located in popular neighborhoods of the city of Mexicali, Mexico. The research shows that there is an unconscious hybridization process, the birth of a mixture of impositions guided by the popular and the personal aspirations of the inhabitant. The study presents the possibilities of a home and the relationship with its inhabitant and, in turn, its effects on the context and its contribution to culture through hybridization.

Keywords: hybridization, architectural landscape, architecture, mass housing

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Authors: Luis Rodrigo Valencia Pérez, Juan Manuel Peña Aguilar, Adelina Morita Alexander, Alberto Lamadrid Alvarez, Héctor Fernando Valencia Pérez

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Financial education is among the areas of opportunity in the Spanish-speaking from an early age to high school, through mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets using ludic and fun applications like interactive games, children can learn money management and investment through time, thereby fostering the habit of saving and/or sound management of cash and family business resources, having interaction with an uncontrolled environment such as the involvement of other players in the external decisions of the environment in which the game is play. The application proposed in Phase 1 (design and development) was designed in multi-user environments, under methodologies of hybrid programming for any platform on the market and designed under CMMI standards that allow for quality production over time, following up on these improvements counting with continuous user feedback and usage statistics.

Keywords: mobile educational games, ludic games, children, multiuser, design and software development

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Authors: Jorge Ferrada Herrera, Pablo M. Millán-Millán

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The delimitation in the cities of heritage areas implicit in strong processes of transformation, both social and material. The study shows how two cities, seemingly different as Seville (Spain) and Valparaiso (Chile), share the same transformation process from its declaration as heritage cities. The metdología used in research has been on the one hand the analytic-criticism has shown us all processes and the level of involvement of these. On the other hand the direct observation methodology has allowed us to ratify all studied. Faced with these processes research shows social resources that people have developed to address each of them. The study concludes the need to strengthen the social and associative fabric in heritage areas as a resource to ensure the survival of heritage, not only material but also social and cultural. As examples, we have chosen Seville and Valparaiso: the gentrification of Seville prior to the universal exhibition of ‘92 –with pretty specific plans-- is paralleled by Valparaiso’s plan to revitalize its port and its protected (UNESCO) area. The whole of our theoretical discourse will be based thereupon.

Keywords: historical centers, tourism, heritage, social processes

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Authors: Cecília M. Antão, Paulo Jorge Nogueira

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Breast cancer (BC) is the first cause of cancer mortality among Portuguese women. This retrospective observational study aimed at identifying comorbidities associated with BC female patients admitted to Portuguese public hospitals (2010-2018), investigating the effect of comorbidities on BC mortality rate, and building a predictive model using logistic regression. Results showed that the BC mortality in Portugal decreased in this period and reached 4.37% in 2018. Adjusted odds ratio indicated that secondary malignant neoplasms of liver, of bone and bone marrow, congestive heart failure, and diabetes were associated with an increased chance of dying from breast cancer. Although the Lisbon district (the most populated area) accounted for the largest percentage of BC patients, the logistic regression model showed that, besides patient’s age, being resident in Bragança, Castelo Branco, or Porto districts was directly associated with an increase of the mortality rate.

Keywords: breast cancer, comorbidities, logistic regression, adjusted odds ratio

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Authors: Manuel Urueña Palomo

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In this paper, we introduce the study of a new solution to gravitational singularities by violating the energy conditions of the Penrose Hawking singularity theorems. We consider that a shift to negative energies, and thus, to negative masses, takes place at the event horizon of a black hole, justified by the original, singular and exact Schwarzschild solution. These negative energies are supported by relativistic particle physics considering the negative energy solutions of the Dirac equation, which states that a time transformation shifts to a negative energy particle. In either general relativity or full Newtonian mechanics, these negative masses are predicted to be repulsive. It is demonstrated that the model fits actual observations, and could possibly clarify the size of observed and unexplained supermassive black holes, when considering the inflation that would take place inside the event horizon where massive particles interact antigravitationally. An approximated solution of the model proposed could be simulated in order to compare it with these observations.

Keywords: black holes, CPT symmetry, negative mass, time transformation

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Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Veruska, C. Dutra, Jr., Keity L. F. Oliveira, Patrícia A. Santos, Alana C. M. Santana

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Environmental impacts are the changes in the physical, chemical or biological properties of natural areas that are most often caused by human actions on the environment and which have consequences for human health, society and the elements of nature. The identification of the environmental impacts is important so that they are mitigated, and above all that the mitigating measures are applied in the area. This work aims to identify the environmental impacts generated in the Praia do Caju area in the city of Palmas/Brazil and show that the lack of structure on the beach intensifies the environmental impacts. The present work was carried out having as parameter, the typologies of exploratory and descriptive and quantitative research through a matrix of environmental impacts through direct observation and registration. The study took place during the holidays from August to December 2016 and photographic record of impacts. From the collected data it was possible to verify that Caju beach suffers constant degradation due to irregular deposition.

Keywords: leisure, tourism, environmental impacts, Brazil

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Authors: Luiz Carlos Dias Lima De Oliveira

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Psychology does not have the task of being confined only to the knowledge of losses, weaknesses or diseases, because it is necessary to give analogous dedication to the investigation of human virtues, efforts and aptitudes. The reasons for living with greater constancy and expressiveness act as a protective condition for risk behaviors, but with less constancy and expressiveness they can be a viable parameter of suicidal ideation or potential suicidal initiatives. In other words, Positive Psychology scientifically studies human strengths and virtues. In the same way, we refer to the basic psychological needs of the human being, according to the Theory of Self-Determination: the need for belonging, competence and autonomy to live the best possible life or the ability to make positive decisions in life. In this sense, following the assumptions of Positive Psychology, we raise the question of what are the reasons for living, seeking a way to draw attention to positive aspects of life.

Keywords: psychology, positive, self-determination, belonging, competence, autonomy, depression, suicide.

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Authors: Flávia M. Oliveira, Marcos V. Rodrigues, Mônica L. Aguiar

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Synthetic fibers are widely used in gas filtration. Previous attempts to optimize the filtration process have employed mixed fibers as the filter medium in gas-solid separation. Some of the materials most frequently used this purpose are composed of polyester, polypropylene, and glass fibers. In order to improve the retention of cement particles in bag filters, the present study investigates the use of synthetic glass fiber filters and polypropylene fiber for particle filtration, with electrostatic discharge of 0 to -2 kV in cement particles. The filtration curves obtained showed that charging increased the particle collection efficiency and lowered the pressure drop. Particle diameter had a direct influence on the formation of the dust cake, and the application of electrostatic discharge to the particles resulted in the retention of more particles, hence increasing the lifetime of fabric filters.

Keywords: glass fiber filter, particle, electrostatic discharge, cement

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Authors: Jorge M. Uribe

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We propose a methodology for setting the price of an insurance contract targeted to manage the risk associated with weather conditions that affect variable renewable energy generation. The methodology relies on conditional quantile regressions to estimate the weather risk of a solar panel. It is illustrated using real daily radiation and weather data for three cities in Spain (Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid) from February 2/2004 to January 22/2019. We also adapt the concepts of value at risk and expected short fall from finance to this context, to provide a complete panorama of what we label as weather risk. The methodology is easy to implement and can be used by insurance companies to price a contract with the aforementioned characteristics when data about similar projects and accurate cash flow projections are lacking. Our methodology assigns a higher price to an insurance product with the stated characteristics in Madrid, compared to Valencia and Barcelona. This is consistent with Madrid showing the largest interquartile range of operational deficits and it is unrelated to the average value deficit, which illustrates the importance of our proposal.

Keywords: insurance, weather, vre, risk

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Authors: S. S. Pati, L. Herojit Singh, A. C. Oliveira, V. K. Garg

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Chitosan functionalized Fe3O4-Au core shell nanoparticles have been prepared using a two step wet chemical approach using NaBH4 as reducing agent for formation of Au inethylene glycol. X-ray diffraction studies shows individual phases of Fe3O4 and Au in the as prepared samples with crystallite size of 5.9 and 11.4 nm respectively. The functionalization of the core-shell nanostructure with Chitosan has been confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy along with signatures of octahedral and tetrahedral sites of Fe3O4 below 600cm-1. Mössbauer spectroscopy shows decrease in particle-particle interaction in presence of Au shell (72% sextet) than pure oleic coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles (88% sextet) at room temperature. At 80K, oleic acid coated Fe3O4 shows only sextets whereas the Chitosan functionalized Fe3O4 and Chitosan functionalized Fe3O4@Au core shell show presence of 5 and 11% doublet, respectively.

Keywords: core shell, drug delivery, gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles

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Authors: Shehret Tilvaldyev, Jorge Flores-Garay, Alfredo Villanueva, Erwin Martinez, Lazaro Rico

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The efficiency of modern transportation is severely compromised by the prevalence of turbulent drag. The high level of turbulent skin-friction occurring, e.g., on the surface of an aircraft, automobiles or the carriage of a high-speed train, is responsible for excess fuel consumption and increased carbon emissions. The environmental, political, and economic pressure to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions associated with transportation means that reducing turbulent skin-friction drag is a pressing engineering problem. The dynamic pressure of subsonic airflow around solid objects creates lift, but also induces drag force. This paper is presenting the results of laboratory experiments, investigating appearance and magnitude of dynamic pressure in micro scale of subsonic air flow around right cylinder and symmetrical airfoil.

Keywords: airflow, dynamic pressure, micro scale, symmetric object

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Authors: Fernando Maass, Pablo Martin, Jorge Olivares

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Fractional derivatives have become very important in several areas of Engineering, however, the solutions of simple differential equations are not known. Here we are considering the simplest first order nonhomogeneous differential equations with Bessel regular functions of the first kind, in this way the solutions have been found which are hypergeometric solutions for any fractional derivative of order α, where α is rational number α=m/p, between zero and one. The way to find this result is by using Laplace transform and the Caputo definitions of fractional derivatives. This method is for values longer than one. However for α entire number the hypergeometric functions are Kumer type, no integer values of alpha, the hypergeometric function is more complicated is type ₂F₃(a,b,c, t2/2). The argument of the hypergeometric changes sign when we go from the regular Bessel functions to the modified Bessel functions of the first kind, however it integer seems that using precise values of α and considering no integers values of α, a solution can be obtained in terms of two hypergeometric functions. Further research is required for future papers in order to obtain the general solution for any rational value of α.

Keywords: Caputo, fractional calculation, hypergeometric, linear differential equations

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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: S. S. Silva, S. M. A. Souza, C. F. P. Oliveira

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Brazil's agriculture is a major economic base in the country; in addition, family farming is directly responsible for the production of most agricultural products in Brazil, such as cassava. The number of studies on the use of cassava and its derivatives in the food industry has been increased, which is the basis of this study. Sought to develop a food that take advantage the products from farmers, adding value to these products and to study its effects as a replacement for wheat flour. For such elaborated a gluten-free cake – aiming to meet the needs of the celiac public – containing cassava flour, cane sugar, honey, egg, soya oil, coconut desiccated, baking powder and water. For evaluation of their characteristics technological, physicochemical and texture characterizations were done. Cake showed similar characteristics of cake made with wheat flour and growth and aeration of the dough. In sum up, marketing the product is viable, in that it has a typical overall appearance of cake made of wheat flour, meet the needs of celiac people and value the family farming.

Keywords: baking, cake, cassava flour, celiac disease

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Authors: Jorge Sandoval Lezama, Arturo Ivan Sandoval Rodriguez, Jose Arturo Correa Arredondo

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This work aims to share innovative educational experiences at IPN Mexico, that involve collaborative learning at institutional and global level through course competition and global collaboration projects. Students from universities in China, USA, South Korea, Canada and Mexico collaborate to design electric vehicles to solve global urban mobility problems. The participation of IPN students in the 2015-2016 global competition (São Paolo, Brazil and Cincinnati, USA) Reconfigurable Shared-Use Mobility Systems allowed to apply pedagogical strategies of groups of collaboration and of learning based on projects where they shared activities, commitments and goals, demonstrating that students were motivated to develop / self-generate their knowledge with greater meaning and understanding. One of the most evident achievements is that the students are self-managed, so the most advanced students train the students who join the project with CAD, CAE, CAM tools. Likewise, the motivation achieved is evident since in 2014 there were 12 students involved in the project, and there are currently more than 70 students.

Keywords: collaboration projects, global competency, course competition, active learning

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Authors: Carolina Sanchez, Juan R. Gallego, Manuel Gamez, Tomas Cabello

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Currently, biological control programs in greenhouse crops involve the use, at the same time, several natural enemies during the crop cycle. Also, large number of plant species grown in greenhouses, among them, the used cultivars are also wide. However, the cultivar effects on entomophagous species efficacy (predators and parasitoids) have been scarcely studied. A new method had been developed, using the factitious prey or host Ephestia kuehniella. It allows us to evaluate, under greenhouse or controlled conditions (semi-field), the cultivar effects on the entomophagous species effectiveness. The work was carried out in greenhouse tomato crop. It has been found the biological and ecological activities of predatory species (Nesidiocoris tenuis) and egg-parasitoid (Trichogramma achaeae) can be well represented with the use of the factitious prey or host; being better in the former than the latter. The data found in the trial are shown and discussed. The developed method could be applied to evaluate new plant materials before making available to farmers as commercial varieties, at low costs and easy use.

Keywords: cultivar effects, efficiency, predators, parasitoids

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Authors: Edén Bojórquez, Victor Baca, Alfredo Reyes-Salazar, Jorge González

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In this paper, simplified equations to predict maximum inter-story drift demands of steel framed buildings are proposed in terms of two ground motion intensity measures based on the acceleration spectral shape. For this aim, the maximum inter-story drifts of steel frames with 4, 6, 8 and 10 stories subjected to narrow-band ground motion records are estimated and compared with the spectral acceleration at first mode of vibration Sa(T1) which is commonly used in earthquake engineering and seismology, and with a new parameter related with the structural response known as INp. It is observed that INp is the parameter best related with the structural response of steel frames under narrow-band motions. Finally, equations to compute maximum inter-story drift demands of steel frames as a function of spectral acceleration and INp are proposed.

Keywords: intensity measures, spectral shape, steel frames, peak demands

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Authors: Israel Becerril Rosales, Manuel González De La Rosa, Gerardo Villa Sánchez

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In this work, the effects that produce not having a good inventory management is analyzed, in addition of the way that how it affects the storage costs. The research began conducting the historical analysis about stored products, its storage capacity, and distribution. The results were not optimal, since in all its raw materials (RM) have overstocking, the warehouse capacity is only used by 61%, does not have a specific place for each of its RM, causing that the delivery times increases and makes difficult a cyclical inventory. These shortcomings allowed to view and select as design alternatives the inventory ABC, so that depending on the consumption of each RM would be redistributed by using economic amount requested. Also, the Delphi method to ensure the practical applicability of the proposed tool was used, taking in account comments and suggestions of the involved experts, as well as the compliance of NOM-059-SSA1-2015 good manufacturing practices of drug. With the actions implemented, the utilization rate drops of 61% to 32% capacity, it shows that the warehouse was not designed properly due to there is not an industrial engineering area.

Keywords: lead time, improve delivery, storage costs, inventory management

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Authors: Mohammed M. Ibrahim, A. A. Yusuf, Manuel Du, Fiona Mumoki

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The traditional honey bee species of Sudan is Apis mellifera, but in 1985, the dwarf bee Apis florea was introduced to the country, so now there are two species present. However, there are conflicting assessments regarding the subspecies of Apis mellifera colonies in Sudan. Likewise, it is unclear if, in the 40 years since its introduction, Apis florea has already developed regional differences or ecotypes. To shed light on these questions, we performed a morphology study on Sudanese honeybees. Samples of 10 to 20 honeybee workers per colony of the two species were collected from 16 locations, spanning different climatic zones in Sudan during 2021. Measurements were taken from 16 morphometric characteristics using a stereo-microscope equipped with an Image Analysis System (Moticam Image Plus 5.0 Digital Microscope Camera) to study their variability. The results indicate that in both species, the general means of various characters showed significant differences (p < 0.05) within a species between different locations, indicating that there might indeed be regional differences. However, more taxonomic investigation and, ideally also, molecular studies are needed in order to confirm the proper identification of subspecies and their ecotypes.

Keywords: Apis, subspecies, morphology, Sudan

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Authors: L. P. Nascimento, M. Soares, N. Valério, A. Ribeiro, J. R. M. Oliveira, J. Araújo, C. Vilarinho, J. Carvalho

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With the growing need to save natural resources and value waste that was previously worthless, waste recycling becomes imperative. Thus, with the techno-scientific growth and in the perspective of sustainability, it is observed that waste has the potential to replace significant percentages of materials considered “virgin”. An example is the replacement of crushed aggregates with foundry sand. In this work, a mix design study of two asphalt mixes, a base mix (AC 20) and a surface mix (AC14) was carried out to evaluate the maximum amount of foundry sand residue that could be used. Water sensitivity tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical behavior of these mixtures. For the superficial mixture with foundry sand (AC14FS), the maximum of sand used was 5%, with satisfactory results of sensitivity to water. In the base mixture with sand (AC20FS), the maximum of sand used was 12%, which had less satisfactory results. However, from an environmental point of view, the re-incorporation of this residue in the pavement is beneficial because it prevents it from being deposited in landfills.

Keywords: foundry sand, hot mix asphalt, industrial waste, waste valorization, sustainability

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Authors: Fátima Gonçalves, Joaquim Brigas, Jorge Gonçalves

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The proliferation of mobile devices in society enables the media to disseminate information and knowledge more rapidly. Higher education students access these contents and share them with each other, in the most diverse platforms, allowing the ubiquity in access to information. This article presents the results and respective quantitative analysis of a survey applied to communication students of two higher education institutions: one in Portugal and another in Spain. The results show that, in this sample, higher education students regularly access news content believing traditional news sources to be more credible. Regarding online sources, it was verified that the access was mostly to free news contents. This study intends to promote the knowledge about the changes that occur in the relationship of higher education students with the media, characterizing how news consumption is processed by these students, considering the resulting effects of the digital media evolution. It is intended to present not only the news sources they use, but also to know some of their habits and relationship with the news media.

Keywords: students' perceptions, communication design, mass media, higher education, digital media

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Authors: Javier Parra-Domínguez, Juan Manuel Corchado

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At present, public efficiency is a concept that intends to maximize return on public investment focus on minimizing the use of resources and maximizing the outputs. The concept takes into account statistical criteria drawn up according to techniques such as DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis). The purpose of the current work is to consider, more precisely, the theoretical application of CBR (Case-Based Reasoning) from economics and computer science, as a preliminary step to improving the efficiency of law enforcement agencies (public sector). With the aim of increasing the efficiency of the public sector, we have entered into a phase whose main objective is the implementation of new technologies. Our main conclusion is that the application of computer techniques, such as CBR, has become key to the efficiency of the public sector, which continues to require economic valuation based on methodologies such as DEA. As a theoretical result and conclusion, the incorporation of CBR systems will reduce the number of inputs and increase, theoretically, the number of outputs generated based on previous computer knowledge.

Keywords: case-based reasoning, knowledge, police, public efficiency

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Authors: Danny Manuel Calvo Velasco, Robert Sanchez Cano

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By using the transference matrix formalism, in this work, it is presented the study of the optical properties of the 1D graded structure, constructed by multiple bi-layers of dielectric and air, considering a redistribution of the material lengths following an arithmetic progression as a function of two parameters. It is presented a factorization for the transference matrices for the graded structure, which allows the interpretation of their optical properties in terms of the properties of simpler structures. It is shown that the graded structure presents new transmission peaks, which can be controlled by the parameter values located in frequencies for which a periodic system has a photonic bandgap. This result is extended to the case of a photonic crystal for which the unitary cell is the proposed graded structure, showing new transmission bands which are due to the multiple new sub-structures present in the system. Also, for the TE polarization, it is observed transmission bands' low frequencies which present low variation of its width and position with the incidence angle. It is expected that these results could guide a route in the design of new photonic devices.

Keywords: graded, material redistribution, photonic system, transference matrix

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Authors: Marisé García Batlle, Juan Manuel Navarrete Tejero

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In aquatic ecosystems, the main indicators of pollution are contaminated sediments, which are the primary repository of radionuclides and chemicals elements in the marine environment. Radioactive Contamination Factor (RCF) has been proposed as a suitable unit to measure the magnitude of radioactive contamination at global scale, caused mainly by more than 2,000 nuclear explosions tests performed during the 1945-65 period. It is obtained as percentage of contaminant radioactivity (¹³⁷Cs) compared to natural radioactivity (⁴⁰K), both expressed in Bq/g of marine sediments conditioned in Marinelli containers and detected in both NaI(Tl) and HPGe detectors. So, in this paper samples of marine sediments were taken up along the occidental Cuban coasts and analyzed by gamma spectrometry for the determination of gamma-emitting radioisotopes with energies between 60 and 2000 keV. The results proved that the proposed method is simple and suitable to evaluated radioactive contamination. Also, the RCF values provide an appropriate indicator to predict which pollution levels in the future will be and if the rate will go down as disintegrates the ¹³⁷Cs present when only 2,4 half-lives have passed away.

Keywords: Cuba, gamma spectrometry, marine sediments, radioactive pollution

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Authors: Jorge Gonzalez Camus, Valentin Keyantuo, Mahamadi Warma

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In this work, we obtain representation results for solutions of a time-fractional differential equation involving the discrete fractional Laplace operator in terms of generalized Wright functions. Such equations arise in the modeling of many physical systems, for example, chain processes in chemistry and radioactivity. The focus is on the linear problem of the simplified Moore - Gibson - Thompson equation, where the discrete fractional Laplacian and the Caputo fractional derivate of order on (0,2] are involved. As a particular case, we obtain the explicit solution for the discrete heat equation and discrete wave equation. Furthermore, we show the explicit solution for the equation involving the perturbed Laplacian by the identity operator. The main tool for obtaining the explicit solution are the Laplace and discrete Fourier transforms, and Stirling's formula. The methodology mainly is to apply both transforms in the equation, to find the inverse of each transform, and to prove that this solution is well defined, using Stirling´s formula.

Keywords: discrete fractional Laplacian, explicit representation of solutions, fractional heat and wave equations, fundamental

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Authors: Gizelle K. Vianna, Gustavo S. Oliveira, Gabriel V. Cunha

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The use of decision support systems in agriculture may help monitoring large fields of crops by automatically detecting the symptoms of foliage diseases. In our work, we designed and implemented a decision support system for small tomatoes producers. This work investigates ways to recognize the late blight disease from the analysis of digital images of tomatoes, using a pair of multilayer perceptron neural networks. The networks outputs are used to generate repainted tomato images in which the injuries on the plant are highlighted, and to calculate the damage level of each plant. Those levels are then used to construct a situation map of a farm where a cellular automata simulates the outbreak evolution over the fields. The simulator can test different pesticides actions, helping in the decision on when to start the spraying and in the analysis of losses and gains of each choice of action.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, cellular automata, decision support system, pattern recognition

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Authors: Amanda Cristina de Oliveira, Elias de Souza Monteiro Filho, Roberta Ceriani

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Liquid-liquid extraction in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) constitutes a powerful tool for purifying bio-materials, such as cells, organelles, proteins, among others. In this work, the extraction of the bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been studied in systems formed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) (1500, 4000, and 6000 g.mol⁻¹) + potassium sodium tartrate + water at 303.15°K. Phase diagrams were obtained by turbidimetry and Merchuk’s method (1998). The experimental tie-lines were described using the Othmer-Tobias and Bancroft correlations. ATPSs were correlated with the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model. The results were considered excellent according to global root-mean-square deviations found which were between 0,72 and 1,13%. The concentrations of the proteins in each phase were determined by spectrophotometry at 280 nm, finding partition efficiencies greater than 71%.

Keywords: aqueous two phases systems, bovine serum albumin , liquid-liquid extraction, polyethylene glycol

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Authors: Badino Manuel, Farias Maria Alejandra

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Telemedicine (TM) has the potential to develop efficient and cost-effective means for delivering quality health care services and outcomes, showing equal or, in some cases, better results than in-person treatment. To analyze patient satisfaction with the use of TM becomes relevant because this can affect the results of treatment and the adherence to it. The aim is to assess patient satisfaction with telemedicine for treating substance-related disorders in a mental health service in Córdoba, Argentina. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with substance-related disorders (N=115). A patient satisfaction survey was conducted from December 2021 to March 2022. For a total of 115 participants, 59,1% were male, 38,3% were female and 2,6% non-binary. In relation to educational status, 40% finished university, 39,1% high school, and 20,9 % only primary school. Regarding age, 4,3 % were young, 92,2% were adults, and 3,5% were elderly. Regarding TM treatment, 95,7% reported being satisfied. Furthermore, 85,2% of users declared that they would continueTM treatment, and 14,8% said that they would not resume TM treatment. To conclude, high levels of patient satisfaction contributes to the continuity of TM modality.

Keywords: telemedicine, mental health, substance-related disorders, patient satisfaction

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