Search results for: Alan Pedro da Silva

Authors: Carlos Roberto De Rolt, Julio da Silva Dias, Rafael Tezza, Luca Foschini, Matteo Mura

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The seasonal population fluctuation presents a challenge to touristic cities since the number of inhabitants can double according to the season. The aim of this work is to develop a model that correlates the waste collected with the population of the city and also allow cooperation between the inhabitants and the local government. The model allows public managers to evaluate the impact of the seasonal population fluctuation on waste generation and also to improve planning resource utilization throughout the year. The study uses data from the company that collects the garbage in Florianópolis, a Brazilian city that presents the profile of a city that attracts tourists due to numerous beaches and warm weather. The fluctuations are caused by the number of people that come to the city throughout the year for holidays, summer time vacations or business events. Crowdsensing will be accomplished through smartphones with access to an app for data collection, with voluntary participation of the population. Crowdsensing participants can access information collected in waves for this portal. Crowdsensing represents an innovative and participatory approach which involves the population in gathering information to improve the quality of life. The management of crowdsensing solutions plays an essential role given the complexity to foster collaboration, establish available sensors and collect and process the collected data. Practical implications of this tool described in this paper refer, for example, to the management of seasonal tourism in a large municipality, whose public services are impacted by the floating of the population. Crowdsensing and big data support managers in predicting the arrival, permanence, and movement of people in a given urban area. Also, by linking crowdsourced data to databases from other public service providers - e.g., water, garbage collection, electricity, public transport, telecommunications - it is possible to estimate the floating of the population of an urban area affected by seasonal tourism. This approach supports the municipality in increasing the effectiveness of resource allocation while, at the same time, increasing the quality of the service as perceived by citizens and tourists.

Keywords: big data, dashboards, floating population, smart city, urban management solutions

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Authors: Hanan Algarni

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Background: Impairment of walking and balance skills has negative impact on functional independence and community participation after stroke. Gait recovery is considered a primary goal in rehabilitation by both patients and physiotherapists. Treadmill training coupled with virtual reality technology is a new emerging approach that offers patients with feedback, open and random skills practice while walking and interacting with virtual environmental scenes. Objectives: To synthesize the evidence around the effects of the VR treadmill training on gait speed and balance primarily, functional independence and community participation secondarily in stroke patients. Methods: Systematic review was conducted; search strategy included electronic data bases: MEDLINE, AMED, Cochrane, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, Web of Science, and unpublished literature. Inclusion criteria: Participant: adult >18 years, stroke, ambulatory, without severe visual or cognitive impartments. Intervention: VR treadmill training alone or with physiotherapy. Comparator: any other interventions. Outcomes: gait speed, balance, function, community participation. Characteristics of included studies were extracted for analysis. Risk of bias assessment was performed using Cochrane's ROB tool. Narrative synthesis of findings was undertaken and summary of findings in each outcome was reported using GRADEpro. Results: Four studies were included involving 84 stroke participants with chronic hemiparesis. Interventions intensity ranged (6-12 sessions, 20 minutes-1 hour/session). Three studies investigated the effects on gait speed and balance. 2 studies investigated functional outcomes and one study assessed community participation. ROB assessment showed 50% unclear risk of selection bias and 25% of unclear risk of detection bias across the studies. Heterogeneity was identified in the intervention effects at post training and follow up. Outcome measures, training intensity and durations also varied across the studies, grade of evidence was low for balance, moderate for speed and function outcomes, and high for community participation. However, it is important to note that grading was done on few numbers of studies in each outcome. Conclusions: The summary of findings suggests positive and statistically significant effects (p<0.05) of VR treadmill training compared to other interventions on gait speed, dynamic balance skills, function and participation directly after training. However, the effects were not sustained at follow up in two studies (2 weeks-1 month) and other studies did not perform follow up measurements. More RCTs with larger sample sizes and higher methodological quality are required to examine the long term effects of VR treadmill effects on function independence and community participation after stroke, in order to draw conclusions and produce stronger robust evidence.

Keywords: virtual reality, treadmill, stroke, gait rehabilitation

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Authors: Susana Silva, Dora Martins

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The recent political, economic, social technological and employment changes significantly affect the tourism organizations and consequently the changing nature of the employment experience of the tourism workforce. Such scene leads several researchers and labor analysts to reflect about what kinds of jobs, knowledge and competences are need to ensure the success to teach, to learning and to work on this sector. In recent years the competency-based approach in high education level has become of significant interest. On the one hand, this approach could leads to the forming of the key students’ competences which contribute their better preparation to the professional future and on the other hand could answer better to practical demands from tourism job market. The goals of this paper are (1) to understand the expectations of university tourism students in relation to the present and future tourism competences demands, (2) to identify the importance put on the soft skills, (3) to know the importance of high qualification to their future professional activity and (4) to explore the students perception about present and future tourist sector specificities. To this proposal, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to every students who participate on classes of Hospitality Management under degree and master from one public Portuguese university. All participants were invited, during December 2014 and September 2015, to answer the questionnaire at the moment and on presence of one researcher of this study. Fulfilled the questionnaire 202 students (72, 35,6% male and 130, 64.4% female), the mean age was 21,64 (SD=5,27), 91% (n=86) were undergraduate and 18 (9%) were master students. 80% (n=162) of our participants refers as a possibility to look for a job outside the country.42% (n=85) prefers to work in a medium-sized tourism units (with 50-249 employees). According to our participants the most valued skills in tourism are the domain of foreign languages (87.6%, n=177), the ability to work as a team (85%), the personal persistence (83%, n=168), the knowledge of the product/services provided (73.8%, n=149), and assertiveness (66.3%, n=134). 65% (n=131) refers the availability to look for a job in a home distance of 1000 kilometers and 59% (n=119) do not consider the possibility to work in another area than tourism. From the results of this study we are in the position of confirming the need for universities to maintain a better link with the professional tourism companies and to rethink some competences into their learning course model. Based on our results students, universities and companies could understand more deeply the motivations, expectations and competences need to build the future career who study and work on the tourism sector.

Keywords: human capital, employability, students’ competencies perceptions, soft skills, tourism

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Authors: Christelle Rabbat, Carole Vouebou, Sary Awad, Alan Jean-Marie

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Hydrogen has been proven to be a viable alternative to standard fuels as it is easy to produce and only generates water vapour and zero carbon emissions. However, despite the hydrogen benefits, the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles is impeded by several challenges. The lack of refueling infrastructures remains one of the main hindering factors due to the high costs associated with their design, construction, and operation. Besides, the lack of hydrogen vehicles on the road diminishes the economic viability of investing in refueling infrastructure. Simultaneously, the absence of accessible refueling stations discourages consumers from adopting hydrogen vehicles, perpetuating a cycle of limited market uptake. To address these challenges, the implementation of adequate policies incentivizing the use of hydrogen vehicles and the reduction of the investment and operation costs of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) are essential to put both investors and customers at ease. Even though the transition to hydrogen cars has been rather slow, public transportation companies have shown a keen interest in this highly promising fuel. Besides, their hydrogen demand is easier to predict and regulate than personal vehicles. Due to the reduced complexity of designing a suitable hydrogen supply chain for public vehicles, this sub-sector could be a great starting point to facilitate the adoption of hydrogen vehicles. Consequently, this study will focus on designing a chain of on-site green HRS for the public transportation network in Nantes Metropole leveraging the latest relevant technological advances aiming to reduce the costs while ensuring reliability, safety, and ease of access. To reduce the cost of HRS and encourage their widespread adoption, a network of 7 H35-T40 HRS has been designed, replacing the conventional J-T valves with turbo-expanders. Each station in the network has a daily capacity of 1,920 kg. Thus, the HRS network can produce up to 12.5 tH2 per day. The detailed cost analysis has revealed a CAPEX per station of 16.6 M euros leading to a network CAPEX of 116.2 M euros. The proposed station siting prioritized Nantes metropole’s 5 bus depots and included 2 city-centre locations. Thanks to the turbo-expander technology, the cooling capacity of the proposed HRS is 19% lower than that of a conventional station equipped with J-T valves, resulting in significant CAPEX savings estimated at 708,560 € per station, thus nearly 5 million euros for the whole HRS network. Besides, the turbo-expander power generation ranges from 7.7 to 112 kW. Thus, the power produced can be used within the station or sold as electricity to the main grid, which would, in turn, maximize the station’s profit. Despite the substantial initial investment required, the environmental benefits, cost savings, and energy efficiencies realized through the transition to hydrogen fuel cell buses and the deployment of HRS equipped with turbo-expanders offer considerable advantages for both TAN and Nantes Metropole. These initiatives underscore their enduring commitment to fostering green mobility and combatting climate change in the long term.

Keywords: green hydrogen, refueling stations, turbo-expander, heavy-duty vehicles

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Authors: Tiago Sigal Linhares, Ana Amélia Nascimento da Silva Bones, Juliana Miola, McArthur Alexander Barrow, Airton Tetelbom Stein

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Introduction: As a result of increased globalization and changing migration trends, it is expected that a significant portion of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) will change their place of residence over time. In order to provide better health care, monitor the HIV epidemic and plan urban public health care and policies, there is a growing need to formulate a strategy for monitoring PLWHA care, location and migration patterns. The Porto Alegre District is characterized by a high prevalence of PLWHA and is considered one of the epicenters of HIV epidemic in Latin America. Objectives: The aim of this study is to create a digital and easily editable map in order to create a visual representation of the location of PLWHA and to monitor their migration within the city and the country in an effort to promote longitudinal care. Methods: This Experience Report used Google Maps Map Creator to generate an active digital map showing the location and changes in residence of 165 PLWHA who received care at two Primary Health Care (PHC) clinics, which attended an estimated population of five thousand patients, in downtown Porto Alegre over the last four years. Their current addresses were discovered in the unified Brazilian health care system digital records (e-SUS) and updated on the map. Results: A digital map with PLWHA current residence location was created. It was possible to demonstrate visually areas with a large concentration of PLWHA and the migration of the population within the city as wells as other cities, regions and states. Conclusions: An easily reproducible and free map could aid in PLWHA monitoring, urban public health planning, target interventions and situational diagnosis. Moreover, a visual representation of PLWHA location and migration could help bring more attention and investments to areas with geographic inequities or higher prevalence of PLWHA. It also enables notification of local PHC units of monitored patients inside their area, which are in clinical risk or with treatment abandonment through active case findings, improving the care of PLWHA.

Keywords: health care, medical public health, theoretical and conceptual innovations, urban public health

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Authors: Ariadne C. Catto, Luis F. da Silva, Khalifa Aguir, Valmor Roberto Mastelaro

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Zinc oxide (ZnO) pure or doped are one of the most promising metal oxide semiconductors for gas sensing applications due to the well-known high surface-to-volume area and surface conductivity. It was shown that ZnO is an excellent gas-sensing material for different gases such as CO, O2, NO2 and ethanol. In this context, pure and doped ZnO exhibiting different morphologies and a high surface/volume ratio can be a good option regarding the limitations of the current commercial sensors. Different studies showed that the sensitivity of metal-doped ZnO (e.g. Co, Fe, Mn,) enhanced its gas sensing properties. Motivated by these considerations, the aim of this study consisted on the investigation of the role of Co ions on structural, morphological and the gas sensing properties of nanostructured ZnO samples. ZnO and Zn1-xCoxO (0 < x < 5 wt%) thin films were obtained via the polymeric precursor method. The sensitivity, selectivity, response time and long-term stability gas sensing properties were investigated when the sample was exposed to a different concentration range of ozone (O3) at different working temperatures. The gas sensing property was probed by electrical resistance measurements. The long and short-range order structure around Zn and Co atoms were investigated by X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement was performed in order to identify the elements present on the film surface as well as to determine the sample composition. Microstructural characteristics of the films were analyzed by a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Zn1-xCoxO XRD patterns were indexed to the wurtzite ZnO structure and any second phase was observed even at a higher cobalt content. Co-K edge XANES spectra revealed the predominance of Co2+ ions. XPS characterization revealed that Co-doped ZnO samples possessed a higher percentage of oxygen vacancies than the ZnO samples, which also contributed to their excellent gas sensing performance. Gas sensor measurements pointed out that ZnO and Co-doped ZnO samples exhibit a good gas sensing performance concerning the reproducibility and a fast response time (around 10 s). Furthermore, the Co addition contributed to reduce the working temperature for ozone detection and improve the selective sensing properties.

Keywords: cobalt-doped ZnO, nanostructured, ozone gas sensor, polymeric precursor method

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Authors: Viviane A. O. Silva, Angela M. Costa, Glaucia N. M. Hajj, Ana Preto, Aline Tansini, Martin Roffé, Peter Jordan, Rui M. Reis

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Autophagy is a recycling and degradative system suggested to be a major cell death pathway in cancer cells. Autophagy pathway is interconnected with the endocytosis pathways sharing the same ultimate lysosomal destination. Lysosomes are crucial regulators of cell homeostasis, responsible to downregulate receptor signalling and turnover. It seems highly likely that derailed endocytosis can make major contributions to several hallmarks of cancer. WNK2, a member of the WNK (with-no-lysine [K]) subfamily of protein kinases, had been found downregulated by its promoter hypermethylation, and has been proposed to act as a specific tumour-suppressor gene in brain tumors. Although some contradictory studies indicated WNK2 as an autophagy modulator, its role in cancer cell death is largely unknown. There is also growing evidence for additional roles of WNK kinases in vesicular traffic. Aim: To evaluate the role of WNK2 in autophagy and endocytosis on glioma context. Methods: Wild-type (wt) A172 cells (WNK2 promoter-methylated), and A172 transfected either with an empty vector (Ev) or with a WNK2 expression vector, were used to assess the cellular basal capacities to promote autophagy, through western blot and flow-cytometry analysis. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of WNK2 on general endocytosis trafficking routes by immunofluorescence. Results: The re-expression of ectopic WNK2 did not interfere with autophagy-related protein light chain 3 (LC3-II) expression levels as well as did not promote mTOR signaling pathway alteration when compared with Ev or wt A172 cells. However, the restoration of WNK2 resulted in a marked increase (8 to 92,4%) of Acidic Vesicular Organelles formation (AVOs). Moreover, our results also suggest that WNK2 cells promotes delay in uptake and internalization rate of cholera toxin B and transferrin ligands. Conclusions: The restoration of WNK2 interferes in vesicular traffic during endocytosis pathway and increase AVOs formation. This results also suggest the role of WNK2 in growth factor receptor turnover related to cell growth and homeostasis and associates one more time, WNK2 silencing contribution in genesis of gliomas.

Keywords: autophagy, endocytosis, glioma, WNK2

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Authors: A. Díaz-Roa, P. I. Silva Junior, F. J. Bello

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Sarconesiopsis magellanica (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a medically important necrophagous fly which is used for establishing the post-mortem interval. Dipterous maggots release diverse proteins and peptides contained in larval excretion and secretion (ES) products playing a key role in digestion. The most important mechanism for combating infection using larval therapy depends on larval ES. These larvae are protected against infection by a diverse spectrum of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), one already known like lucifensin. Special interest in these peptides has also been aroused regarding understanding their role in wound healing since they degrade necrotic tissue and kill different bacteria during larval therapy. The action of larvae on wounds occurs through 3 mechanisms of action: removal of necrotic tissue, stimulation of granulation tissue, and antibacterial action of larval ES. Some components of the ES include calcium, urea, allantoin ammonium bicarbonate and reducing the viability of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The Lucilia sericata fly larvae have been the most used, however, we need to evaluate new species that could potentially be similar or more effective than fly above. This study was thus aimed at identifying and characterizing S. magellanica AMPs contained in ES products for the first time and compared them with the common fly used L. sericata. These products were obtained from third-instar larvae taken from a previously established colony. For the first analysis, ES fractions were separate by Sep-Pak C18 disposable columns (first step). The material obtained was fractionated by RP-HPLC by using Júpiter C18 semi-preparative column. The products were then lyophilized and their antimicrobial activity was characterized by incubation with different bacterial strains. The first chromatographic analysis of ES from L. sericata gives 6 fractions with antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria Micrococus luteus, and 3 fractions with activity against Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonae aeruginosa while the one from S. magellanica gaves 1 fraction against M. luteus and 4 against P. aeruginosa. Maybe one of these fractions could correspond to the peptide already known from L. sericata. These results show the first work for supporting further experiments aimed at validating S. magellanica use in larval therapy. We still need to search if we find some new molecules, by making mass spectrometry and ‘de novo sequencing’. Further studies are necessary to identify and characterize them to better understand their functioning.

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides, larval therapy, Lucilia sericata, Sarconesiopsis magellanica

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Authors: Carolina Silva Ansélmo

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Airports are demand-generating poles that affect the flow of traffic around them. The airport access system must be fast, convenient, and adequately planned, considering its potential users. An airport with good ground access conditions can provide the user with a more satisfactory access experience. When several transport options are available, service providers must understand users' preferences and the expected quality of service. The present study focuses on airport access in a comparative scenario between bus, private vehicle, subway, taxi and urban mobility transport applications to São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport. The objectives are (i) to identify the factors that influence the choice, (ii) to measure Willingness to Pay (WTP), and (iii) to estimate the market share for each modal. The applied method was Adaptive Choice-based Conjoint Analysis (ACBC) technique using Sawtooth Software. Conjoint analysis, rooted in Utility Theory, is a survey technique that quantifies the customer's perceived utility when choosing alternatives. Assessing user preferences provides insights into their priorities for product or service attributes. An additional advantage of conjoint analysis is its requirement for a smaller sample size compared to other methods. Furthermore, ACBC provides valuable insights into consumers' preferences, willingness to pay, and market dynamics, aiding strategic decision-making to provide a better customer experience, pricing, and market segmentation. In the present research, the ACBC questionnaire had the following variables: (i) access time to the boarding point, (ii) comfort in the vehicle, (iii) number of travelers together, (iv) price, (v) supply power, and (vi) type of vehicle. The case study questionnaire reached 213 valid responses considering the scenario of access from the São Paulo city center to São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport. As a result, the price and the number of travelers are the most relevant attributes for the sample when choosing airport access. The market share of the selection is mainly urban mobility transport applications, followed by buses, private vehicles, taxis and subways.

Keywords: adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis, ground access to airport, market share, willingness to pay

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Authors: Sandra Maria Cerqueira Da Silva

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The construction of the material world involves a series of social power relations. These relations, in a way, can dictate, shape, judge and drive the profiles of so-called ‘ideal’ individuals. Gender relations, as power relations, are defined based on hierarchies, obediences and inequalities, and male domination seems, with few exceptions, to be rooted in every society around the world. The profile of the Brazilian woman, beyond patriarchal and market determinations, is strongly subjected to media products. Women are, numerically, the majority in Brazilian society. The social indicators point to slight advances in terms of years of study and professional qualification, as well as access to the job market; yet, differences in opportunity and conditions — often explained though the ‘unquestionable’ cultural rancidness argument — still hinder women’s ability to reach and keep job positions. These unequalities are also visible in everyday interactions and in gender relations, and they become greater once race is added to the analysis. For a black woman, her racial origins may play a part in determining the construction of her gender roles. In these terms, there is need to investigate the racial character of the sexual differences within a larger social proccess of naturalization and justification of cultural hierarchies. Thus, the goal of this study is to identify and discuss the media-built image of black women in Brazil. Furthermore, it is necessary to seek views different than those of the ruling classes. The study uses a qualitative approach based on the feminist standpoint, which intends to hold women’s experiences as central. The body of the research — images taken from the Internet — was treated through critical content analysis. The results show that in Brazil the profile of black women, beyond the machist and sexist generalizations, objectifies them or sees them as servants, always at the disposal of non-blacks. It is necessary to overcome the history of this nation, always considering the contribution of these women to the growth and development of places and societies. This can be done through the acknowledgement and highlighting of the few black women who were able to overcome the many barriers in their path and reach leadership position in the country. There are still many important challenges in the way of finding affirmative policies and reaching a more equal society in terms of gender and race; a serious and firm political commitment seems sine qua non.

Keywords: black woman, feminist standpoint, markings, objectification

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Authors: Hernan Arturo Blas López, Gustavo Henndel Lopes, Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira, Carmen Elena Flores Barreda, Patricia Araujo Pantoja

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Phenols are toxic for life and the environment and may come from many sources. Uncured phenolic monomers present in phenolic resins used as binders in grinding wheels and emery paper can contaminate industrial wastewaters in abrasives manufacture plants. Furthermore, vestiges of resol and novolacs resins generated by wear and tear of abrasives are also possible sources of water contamination by phenolics in these facilities. Fortunately, advanced oxidation by dark Fenton and photo-Fenton techniques are capable of oxidizing phenols and their degradation products up to their mineralization into H₂O and CO₂. The maximal allowable concentrations for phenols in Peruvian waterbodies is very low, such that insufficiently treated effluents from the abrasives industry are a potential environmental noncompliance. The current case study highlights findings obtained during the lab-scale application of Fenton’s and photo-assisted Fenton’s chemistries to real industrial wastewater samples from an abrasives manufacture plant in Peru. The goal was to reduce the phenolic content and sample toxicity. For this purpose, two independent variables-reaction time and effect of ultraviolet radiation–were studied as for their impacts on the concentration of total phenols, total organic carbon (TOC), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). In this study, diluted samples (1 L) of the industrial effluent were treated with Fenton’s reagent (H₂O₂ and Fe²⁺ from FeSO₄.H₂O) during 10 min in a photochemical batch reactor (Alphatec RFS-500, Brazil) at pH 2.92. In the case of photo-Fenton tests with ultraviolet lamps of 9 W, UV-A, UV-B and UV-C lamps were evaluated. All process conditions achieved 100% of phenols degraded within 5 minutes. TOC, BOD and COD decreased by 49%, 52% and 86% respectively (all processes together). However, Fenton treatment was not capable of reducing BOD, COD and TOC below a certain value even after 10 minutes, contrarily to photo-Fenton. It was also possible to conclude that the processes here studied degrade other compounds in addition to phenols, what is an advantage. In all cases, elevated effluent dilution factors and high amounts of oxidant agent impact negatively the overall economy of the processes here investigated.

Keywords: fenton oxidation, wastewater treatment, phenols, abrasives industry

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Authors: Natan C. G. Silva, Carlos A. C. Girao Neto, Marcele M. S. Vasconcelos, Luciana R. B. Goncalves, Maria Valderez P. Rocha

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Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) are sugars with prebiotic function that can be synthesized chemically or enzymatically, and this last one can be promoted by the action of β-galactosidases. In addition to favoring the transgalactosylation reaction to form GOS, these enzymes can also catalyze the hydrolysis of lactose. A highly studied type of GOS is lactulose because it presents therapeutic properties and is a health promoter. Among the different raw materials that can be used to produce lactulose, whey stands out as the main by-product of cheese manufacturing, and its discarded is harmful to the environment due to the residual lactose present. Therefore, its use is a promising alternative to solve this environmental problem. Thus, lactose from whey is hydrolyzed into glucose and galactose by β-galactosidases. However, in order to favor the transgalactosylation reaction, the medium must contain fructose, due this sugar reacts with galactose to produce lactulose. Then, the glucose-isomerase enzyme can be used for this purpose, since it promotes the isomerization of glucose into fructose. In this scenario, the aim of the present work was first to develop β-galactosidase biocatalysts of Kluyveromyces lactis and to apply it in the integrated reactions of hydrolysis, isomerization (with the glucose-isomerase from Streptomyces murinus) and transgalactosylation reaction, using whey as a substrate. The immobilization of β-galactosidase in chitosan previously functionalized with 0.8% glutaraldehyde was evaluated using different enzymatic loads (2, 5, 7, 10, and 12 mg/g). Subsequently, the hydrolysis and transgalactosylation reactions were studied and conducted at 50°C, 120 RPM for 20 minutes. In parallel, the isomerization of glucose into fructose was evaluated under conditions of 70°C, 750 RPM for 90 min. After, the integration of the three processes for the production of lactulose was investigated. Among the evaluated loads, 7 mg/g was chosen because the best activity of the derivative (44.3 U/g) was obtained, being this parameter determinant for the reaction stages. The other parameters of immobilization yield (87.58%) and recovered activity (46.47%) were also satisfactory compared to the other conditions. Regarding the integrated process, 94.96% of lactose was converted, achieving 37.56 g/L and 37.97 g/L of glucose and galactose, respectively. In the isomerization step, conversion of 38.40% of glucose was observed, obtaining a concentration of 12.47 g/L fructose. In the transgalactosylation reaction was produced 13.15 g/L lactulose after 5 min. However, in the integrated process, there was no formation of lactulose, but it was produced other GOS at the same time. The high galactose concentration in the medium probably favored the reaction of synthesis of these other GOS. Therefore, the integrated process proved feasible for possible production of prebiotics. In addition, this process can be economically viable due to the use of an industrial residue as a substrate, but it is necessary a more detailed investigation of the transgalactosilation reaction.

Keywords: beta-galactosidase, glucose-isomerase, galactooligosaccharides, lactulose, whey

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Authors: Luís R. Silva, Fábio Jesus, Catarina Bento, Ana C. Gonçalves

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Over the last few years, the traditional medicine has gained ground at nutritional and pharmacological level. The natural products and their derivatives have great importance in several drugs used in modern therapeutics. Plant-based systems continue to play an essential role in primary healthcare. Additionally, the utilization of their plant parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers as nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products, can add a high value in the natural products market, not just by the nutritional value due to the significant levels of phytochemicals, but also by to the high benefit for the producers and manufacturers business. Stems of Prunus avium L. are a byproduct resulting from the processing of cherry, and have been consumed over the years as infusions and decoctions due to its bioactive properties, being used as sedative, diuretic and draining, to relief of renal stones, edema and hypertension. In this work, we prepared a hydroethanolic and infusion extracts from stems of P. avium collected in Fundão Region (Portugal), and evaluate the phenolic profile by LC/DAD, antioxidant capacity, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and protection of human erythrocytes against oxidative damage. The LC-DAD analysis allowed to the identification of 19 phenolic compounds, catechin and 3-O-caffolquinic acid were the main ones. In a general way, hydroethanolic extract proved to be more active than infusion. This extract had the best antioxidant activity against DPPH• (IC50=22.37 ± 0.28 µg/mL) and superoxide radical (IC50=13.93 ± 0.30 µg/mL). Furthermore, it was the most active concerning inhibition of hemoglobin oxidation (IC50=13.73 ± 0.67 µg/mL), hemolysis (IC50=1.49 ± 0.18 µg/mL) and lipid peroxidation (IC50=26.20 ± 0.38 µg/mL) on human erythrocytes. On the other hand, infusion revealed to be more efficient towards α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC50=3.18 ± 0.23 µg/mL) and against nitric oxide radical (IC50=99.99 ± 1.89 µg/mL). The Sweet cherry sector is very important in Fundão Region (Portugal), and taking profit from the great wastes produced during processing of the cherry to produce added-value products, such as food supplements cannot be ignored. Our results demonstrate that P. avium stems possesses remarkable antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. It is therefore, suggest, that P. avium stems can be used as a natural antioxidant with high potential to prevent or slow the progress of human diseases mediated by oxidative stress.

Keywords: stems, Prunus avium, phenolic compounds, biological potential

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Authors: Breno Barrreto Silva, Agnieszka Otwinowska, Katarzyna Kutylowska

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Research comparing lexical learning following the writing of sentences and longer texts with keywords is limited and contradictory. One possibility is that the recursivity of writing may enhance processing and increase lexical learning; another possibility is that the higher cognitive load of complex-text writing (e.g., essays), at least when timed, may hinder the learning of words. In our study, we selected 2 sets of 10 academic keywords matched for part of speech, length (number of characters), frequency (SUBTLEXus), and concreteness, and we asked 90 L1-Polish advanced-level English majors to use the keywords when writing sentences, timed (60 minutes) or untimed essays. First, all participants wrote a timed Control essay (60 minutes) without keywords. Then different groups produced Timed essays (60 minutes; n=33), Untimed essays (n=24), or Sentences (n=33) using the two sets of glossed keywords (counterbalanced). The comparability of the participants in the three groups was ensured by matching them for proficiency in English (LexTALE), and for few measures derived from the control essay: VocD (assessing productive lexical diversity), normed errors (assessing productive accuracy), words per minute (assessing productive written fluency), and holistic scores (assessing overall quality of production). We measured lexical learning (depth and breadth) via an adapted Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) and a free association test. Cognitive load was measured in the three essays (Control, Timed, Untimed) using normed number of errors and holistic scores (TOEFL criteria). The number of errors and essay scores were obtained from two raters (interrater reliability Pearson’s r=.78-91). Generalized linear mixed models showed no difference in the breadth and depth of keyword knowledge after writing Sentences, Timed essays, and Untimed essays. The task-based measurements found that Control and Timed essays had similar holistic scores, but that Untimed essay had better quality than Timed essay. Also, Untimed essay was the most accurate, and Timed essay the most error prone. Concluding, using keywords in Timed, but not Untimed, essays increased cognitive load, leading to more errors and lower quality. Still, writing sentences and essays yielded similar lexical learning, and differences in the cognitive load between Timed and Untimed essays did not affect lexical acquisition.

Keywords: learning academic words, writing essays, cognitive load, english as an L2

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Authors: Castillo-Acevedo J, Mena-Rivero R, Silva-Poot H

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In Mexico, as largely of the developing countries, the rural housing is a study object, since the diversity of constructive idiosyncrasies for locality, involves various factors that make it vulnerable; an important aspect of study is the progressive deterioration that is seen in the rural housing. Various social programs, contribute financial resources in the field of housing to provide support for families living in rural areas, however, they do not provide a coordination with the self-construction that is usually the way in which is built in these areas. The present study, exposes the physical situation and an economic assessment that presents the rural self-constructed housing in three rural communities in the south of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, which were built with funding from federal social programs. The information compilation was carried out in a period of seven months in which there was used the intentional sampling of typical cases, where the object study was the housing constructed with supports of the program “Rural Housing” between the year 2009 and 2014. Instruments were used as the interview, ballot papers of observation, ballot papers of technical verification and various measuring equipment laboratory for the classification of pathologies; for the determination of some pathologies constructive Mexican standards were applied how NMX-C-192-ONNCCE, NMX-C-111-ONNCCE, NMX-C-404-ONNCCE and finally used the software of Opus CMS ® with the help of tables of the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) for update of costs and wages according to the line of being applied in Mexico, were used for an economic valuation. The results show 11 different constructive pathologies and exposes greater presence with the 22.50% to the segregation of the concrete; the economic assessment shows that 80% of self-constructed housing, exceed the cost of construction it would have compared to a similar dwelling built by a construction company; It is also exposed to the 46.10% of the universe of study represent economic losses in materials to the social activities by houses not built. The system of self-construction used by the social programs, affect to some extent the program objectives applied in underserved areas, as implicit and additional costs affect the economic capacity of beneficiaries who invest time and effort in an activity that are not specialists, which this research provides foundations for sustainable alternatives or possibly eliminate the practice of self-construction of implemented social programs in marginalized rural communities in the south of state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Keywords: economic valuation, pathologies constructive, rural housing, social programs

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Authors: H. Minor-Pérez, A. M. Mota-Silva, S. Ortiz-Barrios

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Substances of vegetable origin with antioxidant capacity have a high potential for application on the conservation of some foods, can prevent or reduce for example oxidation of lipids. However a food is a complex system whose wide variety of components wich can reduce or eliminate this antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant activity can be determined with the ABTS technique. The radical ABTS+ is generated from the acid 2, 2´ - Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). This radical is a composite color bluish-green, stable and with a spectrum of absorption into the UV-visible. The addition of antioxidants causes discoloration, value that can be reported as a percentage of inhibition of the cation radical ABTS+. The objective of this study was evaluated the effect of the combination of the pH and the essential oil of cinnamon (EOC) on inhibition of the radical ABTS+, using statistical design of central point (Design Expert) to obtain mathematical models that describe this phenomenon. Were evaluated 17 treatments with combinations of pH 5, 6 and 7 (citrate-phosphate buffer) and the concentration of essential oil of cinnamon (C): 0 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL and 200 µg/mL. The samples were analyzed using the ABTS technique. The reagent was dissolved in methanol 80% to standardized the absorbance to 0.7 +/- 0.1 at 754 nm. Then samples were mixed with reagent standardized ABTS and after 1 min and 7 min absorbance was read for each treatment at 754 nm. Was used a curve pattern with vitamin C and reported the values as inhibition (%) of radical ABTS+. The statistical analysis shows the experimental results were adjusted to a quadratic model, to the times of 1 min and 7 min. This model describes the influence of the factors investigated independently: pH and cinnamon essential oil (µg/mL) and the effect of the interaction between pH*C, as well as the square of the pH2 and C2. The model obtained was Y = 10.33684 - 3.98118*pH + 1.17031*C + 0.62745*pH2 - 3.26675*10-3*C2 - 0.013112*pH*C, where Y is the response variable. The coefficient of determination was 0.9949 for 1 min. The equation was obtained at 7 min and = - 10.89710 + 1.52341*pH + 1.32892*C + 0.47953*pH2 - 3.56605*10- *C2 - 0.034687*pH*C. The coefficient of determination was 0.9970. This means that only 1% of the total variation is not explained by the developed models. At 100 µg/mL of EOC was obtained an inhibition percentage of 80%, 84% and 97% for the pH values of 5,6 and 7 respectively, while a value of 200 µg/mL the inhibition (%) was very similar for the treatments. In these values of pH was obtained an inhibition close 97%. In conclusion the pH does not have a significant effect on the antioxidant capacity, while the concentration of EOC was decisive for the antioxidant capacity. The authors acknowledge the funding provided by the CONACYT for the project 131998.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, ABTS technique, essential oil of cinnamon, mathematical models

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Authors: Salomão Manuel Francisco, Manuel António Salgueiro Da Silva, Bento Filipe Barreiras Pinto Cavadas, Teresa Monteiro Seixas

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In bachelor's degrees in Physics Education framework in Angola, and to a certain extent, within the community of Portuguese language countries (CPLP), teaching methodologies rely heavily on theoretical memorization and mathematical demonstrations. This approach often discourages students, particularly the female population, as the reliance on theoretical mathematical demonstrations generates the perception of Physics as an arduous, challenging discipline. To address this challenge and recognize the value of practical application as an evaluative criterion of material truth, we propose a practical activity in Environmental Physics that will be shared with Angolan higher education teachers, who will receive full scaffolding and support from the authors. These teachers, adopting and developing similar activities in a classroom setting, will contribute to the environmental education framework as well. Additionally, this work aligns with different goals of UNESCO's 2030 agenda, namely, specifically, goals 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, and 17. The experimental activity developed in this work is centered around the demonstration of the photovoltaic effect and its application for renewable energy production. The first objective of the activity is to study the variation of electrical power supplied by a photovoltaic system (PV) to an electrical circuit as the angle of light incidence changes. Students can observe that the power supplied to the circuit is greater when light rays fall perpendicularly on the PV. However, as the angle of incidence increases, resulting in a larger area covered by the light rays, the power supplied to the circuit decreases due to lower irradiance. The second objective is to demonstrate that the power output can be maximized by adjusting the circuit load resistance at each irradiance value. In these two parts of the activity, students can analyze experimental data taking into account the irradiance law and the equivalent circuit description of a PV cell. Through detailed data analysis, students are also expected to assess the effects of temperature on PV efficiency degradation and the efficiency enhancement provided by light concentration mechanisms. As a third objective, students can explore how the color of incident light affects the PV output power, considering the quantum nature of light and its interaction with the PV system.

Keywords: experiments, irradiation law, physic teaching, photovoltaic effect

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Authors: Rui Fonseca-Pinto, Emanuel Silva, Rui Rijo, Ricardo Martinho, Bruno Carreira

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The sedentary lifestyle is associated to the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases (obesity, hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus Type 2) and the World Health Organization, given the evidence that physical activity is determinant for individual and collective health, defined the Physical Activity Level (PAL) as a vital signal. Strategies for increasing the practice of physical activity in all age groups have emerged from the various social organizations (municipalities, universities, health organizations, companies, social groups) by increasingly developing innovative strategies to promote motivation strategies and conditions to the practice of physical activity. The adaptation of cities to the new paradigms of sustainable mobility has provided the adaptation of urban training circles and mobilized citizens to combat sedentarism. This adaptation has accompanied the technological evolution and makes possible the use of mobile technology to monitor outdoor training programs and also, through the network connection (IoT), use the training data to make personalized recommendations. This work presents a physical activity counseling platform to be used in the physical maintenance circuits of urban centers, the MOVIDA.polis. The platform consists of a back office for the management of circuits and training stations, and for a mobile application for monitoring the user performance during workouts. Using a QRcode, each training station is recognized by the App and based on the individual performance records (effort perception, heart rate variation) artificial intelligence algorithms are used to make a new personalized recommendation. The results presented in this work were obtained during the proof of concept phase, which was carried out in the PolisLeiria training circuit in the city of Leiria (Portugal). It was possible to verify the increase in adherence to the practice of physical activity, as well as to decrease the interval between training days. Moreover, the AI-based recommendation acts as a partner in the training and an additional challenging factor. The platform is ready to be used by other municipalities in order to reduce the levels of sedentarism and approach the weekly goal of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia FCT- Portugal and CENTRO2020 under the scope of MOVIDA project: 02/SAICT/2016 – 23878.

Keywords: physical activity, mHealth, urban training circuits, health promotion

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Authors: Pedro B. Antunes, Paulo J. Ramísio

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Road runoff is a linear source of diffuse pollution that can cause significant environmental impacts. During rainfall events, pollutants from both stationary and mobile sources, which have accumulated on the road surface, are dragged through the superficial runoff. Road runoff in coastal zones may present high levels of salinity and chlorides due to the proximity of the sea and transported marine aerosols. Appearing to be correlated to this process, organic matter concentration may also be significant. This study assesses this phenomenon with the purpose of identifying the relationships between monitored water quality parameters and intrinsic site variables. To achieve this objective, an extensive monitoring program was conducted on a Portuguese coastal highway. The study included thirty rainfall events, in different weather, traffic and salt deposition conditions in a three years period. The evaluations of various water quality parameters were carried out in over 200 samples. In addition, the meteorological, hydrological and traffic parameters were continuously measured. The salt deposition rates (SDR) were determined by means of a wet candle device, which is an innovative feature of the monitoring program. The SDR, variable throughout the year, appears to show a high correlation with wind speed and direction, but mostly with wave propagation, so that it is lower in the summer, in spite of the favorable wind direction in the case study. The distance to the sea, topography, ground obstacles and the platform altitude seems to be also relevant. It was confirmed the high salinity in the runoff, increasing the concentration of the water quality parameters analyzed, with significant amounts of seawater features. In order to estimate the correlations and patterns of different water quality parameters and variables related to weather, road section and salt deposition, the study included exploratory data analysis using different techniques (e.g. Pearson correlation coefficients, Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis), confirming some specific features of the investigated road runoff. Significant correlations among pollutants were observed. Organic matter was highlighted as very dependent of salinity. Indeed, data analysis showed that some important water quality parameters could be divided into two major clusters based on their correlations to salinity (including organic matter associated parameters) and total suspended solids (including some heavy metals). Furthermore, the concentrations of the most relevant pollutants seemed to be very dependent on some meteorological variables, particularly the duration of the antecedent dry period prior to each rainfall event and the average wind speed. Based on the results of a monitoring case study, in a coastal zone, it was proven that SDR, associated with the hydrological characteristics of road runoff, can contribute for a better knowledge of the runoff characteristics, and help to estimate the specific nature of the runoff and related water quality parameters.

Keywords: coastal zones, monitoring, road runoff pollution, salt deposition

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Authors: Victor Lopez-Richard, Rafael Schio Wengenroth Silva, Fabian Hartmann

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Memcomputing is a computational paradigm that combines information processing and storage on the same physical platform. Key elements for this topic are devices with an inherent memory, such as memristors, memcapacitors, and meminductors. Despite the widespread emergence of memory effects in various solid systems, a clear understanding of the basic microscopic mechanisms that trigger them is still a puzzling task. We report basic ingredients of the theory of solid-state transport, intrinsic to a wide range of mechanisms, as sufficient conditions for a memristive response that points to the natural emergence of memory. This emergence should be discernible under an adequate set of driving inputs, as highlighted by our theoretical prediction and general common trends can be thus listed that become a rule and not the exception, with contrasting signatures according to symmetry constraints, either built-in or induced by external factors at the microscopic level. Explicit analytical figures of merit for the memory modulation of the conductance are presented, unveiling very concise and accessible correlations between general intrinsic microscopic parameters such as relaxation times, activation energies, and efficiencies (encountered throughout various fields in Physics) with external drives: voltage pulses, temperature, illumination, etc. These building blocks of memory can be extended to a vast universe of materials and devices, with combinations of parallel and independent transport channels, providing an efficient and unified physical explanation for a wide class of resistive memory devices that have emerged in recent years. Its simplicity and practicality have also allowed a direct correlation with reported experimental observations with the potential of pointing out the optimal driving configurations. The main methodological tools used to combine three quantum transport approaches, Drude-like model, Landauer-Buttiker formalism, and field-effect transistor emulators, with the microscopic characterization of nonequilibrium dynamics. Both qualitative and quantitative agreements with available experimental responses are provided for validating the main hypothesis. This analysis also shades light on the basic universality of complex natural impedances of systems out of equilibrium and might help pave the way for new trends in the area of memory formation as well as in its technological applications.

Keywords: memories, memdevices, memristors, nonequilibrium states

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Authors: David Martinez-Pernia, Alvaro Rivera-Rei, Alejandro Troncoso, Gonzalo Forno, Andrea Slachevsky, David Huepe, Victoria Silva-Mack, Jorge Calderon, Mayte Vergara, Valentina Carrera

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Background: Recent theories in the field of emotions have taken the relevance of motor control beyond a system related to personal autonomy (walking, running, grooming), and integrate it into the emotional dimension. However, to our best knowledge, there are no studies that specifically investigate how emotional stimuli related to motor control modify emotional states in terms of postural control and phenomenological experience. Objective: The main aim of this work is to investigate the emotions produced by stimuli of bodily imbalance (neutral, pleasant and unpleasant) in the postural control and the phenomenological experience of young, healthy adults. Methodology: 46 healthy young people are shown emotional videos (neutral, pleasant, motor unpleasant, and non-motor unpleasant) related to the body imbalance. During the period of stimulation of each of the videos (60 seconds) the participant is standing on a force platform to collect temporal and spatial data of postural control. In addition, the electrophysiological activity of the heart and electrodermal activity is recorded. In relation to the two unpleasant conditions (motor versus non-motor), a phenomenological interview is carried out to collect the subjective experience of emotion and body perception. Results: Pleasant and unpleasant emotional videos have significant changes with respect to the neutral condition in terms of greater area, higher mean velocity, and greater mean frequency power on the anterior-posterior axis. The results obtained with respect to the electrodermal response was that the pleasurable and unpleasant conditions produced a significant increase in the phasic component with respect to the neutral condition. Regarding the electrophysiology of the heart, no significant change was found in any condition. Phenomenological experiences in the two unpleasant conditions differ in body perception and the emotional meaning of the experience. Conclusion: Emotional stimuli related to bodily imbalance produce changes in postural control, electrodermal activity, and phenomenological experience. This experimental setting could be relevant to be implemented in people with motor disorders (Parkinson, Stroke, TBI) to know how emotions affect motor control.

Keywords: body imbalance stimuli, emotion, phenomenological experience, postural control

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Authors: Patrícia Pires, Renata Vaz, Bárbara Teles, Marco Pato, Pedro Beckert

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Introduction: The management of lateral third clavicle fractures can be challenging due to difficulty in distinguishing subtle variations in the fracture pattern, which may be suggestive of potential fracture instability. They occur most often in men between 30 and 50 years of age, and in individuals over 70 years of age, its distribution is equal between both men and women. These fractures account for 10%–30% of all clavicle fractures and roughly 30%–45% of all clavicle nonunion fractures. Lateral third clavicle fractures may be treated conservatively or surgically, and there is no gold standard, although the risk of nonunion or pseudoarthrosis impacts the recommendation of surgical treatment when these fractures are unstable. There are many strategies for surgical treatment, including locking plates, hook plates fixation, coracoclavicular fixation using suture anchors, devices or screws, tension band fixation with suture or wire, transacromial Kirschner wire fixation and arthroscopically assisted techniques. Whenever taking the hardware into consideration, we must not disregard that obtaining adequate lateral fixation of small fragments is a difficult task, and plates are more associated to local irritation. The aim of the appropriate treatment is to ensure fracture healing and a rapid return to preinjury activities of daily living but, as explained, definitive treatment strategies have not been established and the variety of techniques avalilable add up to the discussion of this topic. Methods and Results: We present a clinical case of a 43-year-old man with the diagnosis of a lateral third clavicle fracture (Neer IIC) in the sequence of a fall on his right shoulder after a bicycle fall. He was operated three days after the injury, and through K-wire temporary fixation and indirect reduction using a ZipTight, he underwent osteosynthesis with an interfragmentary figure-of-eight tension band with polydioxanone suture (PDS). Two weeks later, there was a good aligment. He kept the sling until 6 weeks pos-op, avoiding efforts. At 7-weeks pos-op, there was still a good aligment, starting the physiotherapy exercises. After 10 months, he had no limitation in mobility or pain and returned to work with complete recovery in strength. Conclusion: Some distal clavicle fractures may be conservatively treated, but it is widely accepted that unstable fractures require surgical treatment to obtain superior clinical outcomes. In the clinical case presented, the authors chose an osteosuture technique due to the fracture pattern, its location. Since there isn´t a consensus on the prefered fixation method, it is important for surgeons to be skilled in various techniques and decide with their patient which approach is most appropriate for them, weighting the risk-benefit of each method. For instance, with the suture technique used, there is no wire migration or breakage, and it doesn´t require a reoperation for hardware removal; there is also less tissue exposure since it requires a smaller approach in comparison to the plate fixation and avoids cuff tears like the hook plate. The good clinical outcome on this case report serves the purpose of expanding the consideration of this method has a therapeutic option.

Keywords: lateral third, clavicle, suture, fixation

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Authors: Hugo Daneluzzo, Christelle Rabbat, Alan Jean-Marie

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Water electrolysis is one of the most advanced technologies for producing hydrogen and can be easily combined with electricity from different sources. Under the influence of electric current, water molecules can be split into oxygen and hydrogen. The production of hydrogen by water electrolysis favors the integration of renewable energy sources into the energy mix by compensating for their intermittence through the storage of the energy produced when production exceeds demand and its release during off-peak production periods. Among the various electrolysis technologies, anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyser cells are emerging as a reliable technology for water electrolysis. Modeling and simulation are effective tools to save time, money, and effort during the optimization of operating conditions and the investigation of the design. The modeling and simulation become even more important when dealing with multiphysics dynamic systems. One of those systems is the AEM electrolysis cell involving complex physico-chemical reactions. Once developed, models may be utilized to comprehend the mechanisms to control and detect flaws in the systems. Several modeling methods have been initiated by scientists. These methods can be separated into two main approaches, namely equation-based modeling and graph-based modeling. The former approach is less user-friendly and difficult to update as it is based on ordinary or partial differential equations to represent the systems. However, the latter approach is more user-friendly and allows a clear representation of physical phenomena. In this case, the system is depicted by connecting subsystems, so-called blocks, through ports based on their physical interactions, hence being suitable for multiphysics systems. Among the graphical modelling methods, the bond graph is receiving increasing attention as being domain-independent and relying on the energy exchange between the components of the system. At present, few studies have investigated the modelling of AEM systems. A mathematical model and a bond graph model were used in previous studies to model the electrolysis cell performance. In this study, experimental data from literature were simulated using OpenModelica using bond graphs and mathematical approaches. The polarization curves at different operating conditions obtained by both approaches were compared with experimental ones. It was stated that both models predicted satisfactorily the polarization curves with error margins lower than 2% for equation-based models and lower than 5% for the bond graph model. The activation polarization of hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) were behind the voltage loss in the AEM electrolyzer, whereas ion conduction through the membrane resulted in the ohmic loss. Therefore, highly active electro-catalysts are required for both HER and OER while high-conductivity AEMs are needed for effectively lowering the ohmic losses. The bond graph simulation of the polarisation curve for operating conditions at various temperatures has illustrated that voltage increases with temperature owing to the technology of the membrane. Simulation of the polarisation curve can be tested virtually, hence resulting in reduced cost and time involved due to experimental testing and improved design optimization. Further improvements can be made by implementing the bond graph model in a real power-to-gas-to-power scenario.

Keywords: hydrogen production, anion-exchange membrane, electrolyzer, mathematical modeling, multiphysics modeling

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Authors: I. Poot-Ocejo, H. Silva-Poot, J. C. Cruz, A. Yeladaqui-Tello

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Mexico has remarkable archaeological remains mainly in the Maya area, which are critical to the preservation of our cultural heritage, so the authorities have an interest in preserving and restoring these vestiges of the most original way, by employing techniques traditional, which has advantages such as compatibility, durability, strength, uniformity and chemical composition. Recent studies have confirmed the addition of natural resins extracted from the bark of trees, of which Brosium alicastrum (Ramon) has been the most evaluated, besides being one of the most abundant species in the vicinity of the archaeological sites, like that Manilkara Zapota (Chicozapote). Therefore, the objective is to determine if these resins are capable of being employed in archaeological restoration. This study shows the results of the chemical composition and physical-mechanical behavior of mortar mixtures eight made with commercial lime and off by hand, calcium sand, resins added with Brosium alicastrum (Ramon) and Manilkara zapota (Chicozapote), where determined and quantified properties and chemical composition of the resins by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), the pH of the material was determined, indicating that both resins are acidic (3.78 and 4.02), and the addition rate maximum was obtained from resins in water by means of ultrasonic baths pulses, being in the case of 10% Manilkara zapota, because it contains up to 40% rubber and for 40% alicastrum Brosium contain less rubber. Through quantitative methodology, the compressive strength 96 specimens of 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm of mortar binding, 72 with partial substitution of water mixed with natural resins in proportions 5 to 10% in the case was evaluated of Manilkara Zapota, for Brosium alicastrum 20 and 40%, and 12 artificial resin and 12 without additive (mortars witnesses). 24 specimens likewise glued brick with mortar, for testing shear adhesion was found where, then the microstructure more conducive additions was determined by SEM analysis were prepared sweep. The test results indicate that the addition Manilkara zapota resin in the proportion of 10% 1.5% increase in compressive strength and 1% with respect to adhesion, compared to the control without addition mortar; In the case of Brosium alicastrum results show that compressive strengths and adhesion were insignificant compared to those made with registered by Manilkara zapota mixtures. Mortars containing the natural resins have improvements in physical properties and increase the mechanical strength and adhesion, compared to those who do not, in addition to the components are chemically compatible, therefore have considered that can be employed in Archaeological restoration.

Keywords: lime, mortar, natural resins, Manilkara zapota mixtures, Brosium alicastrum

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Authors: Rafael Martins Manzano Silva, Jean-Francois Tremong

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Electrification of railway lines allows to increase speed, power, capacity and energetic efficiency of rolling stocks. However, this process of electrification is complex and costly. An electrification project is not just about design of catenary. It also includes installation of structures around electrification, as substation installation, electrical isolation, signalling, telecommunication and civil engineering structures. France has more than 30,000 km of railways, whose only 53% are electrified. The others 47% of railways use diesel locomotive and represent only 10% of the circulation (tons.km). For this reason, a new type of electrification, less expensive than the usual, is requested to enable the modernization of these railways. One solution could be the use of hybrids trains. This technology opens up new opportunities for less expensive infrastructure development such as the partial electrification of railway lines. In a partially electrified railway, the power supply of theses hybrid trains could be made either by the catenary or by the on-board energy storage system (ESS). Thus, the on-board ESS would feed the energetic needs of the train along the non-electrified zones while in electrified zones, the catenary would feed the train and recharge the on-board ESS. This paper’s objective deals with the technical and economic potential identification of partial electrification of railway lines. This study provides different scenarios of electrification by replacing the most expensive places to electrify using on-board ESS. The target is to reduce the cost of new electrification projects, i.e. reduce the cost of electrification infrastructures while not increasing the cost of rolling stocks. In this study, scenarios are constructed in function of the electrification’s cost of each structure. The electrification’s cost varies considerably because of the installation of catenary support in tunnels, bridges and viaducts is much more expensive than in others zones of the railway. These scenarios will be used to describe the power supply system and to choose between the catenary and the on-board energy storage depending on the position of the train on the railway. To identify the influence of each partial electrification scenario in the sizing of the on-board ESS, a model of the railway line and of the rolling stock is developed for a real case. This real case concerns a railway line located in the south of France. The energy consumption and the power demanded at each point of the line for each power supply (catenary or on-board ESS) are provided at the end of the simulation. Finally, the cost of a partial electrification is obtained by adding the civil engineering costs of the zones to be electrified plus the cost of the on-board ESS. The study of the technical and economic potential ends with the identification of the most economically interesting scenario of electrification.

Keywords: electrification, hybrid, railway, storage

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Authors: Amit Kumar, Archana Gupta, Poonam Tandon, E. D. D’Silva

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Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are the key materials for the fast processing of information and optical data storage applications. In the last decade, materials showing nonlinear optical properties have been the object of increasing attention by both experimental and computational points of view. Chalcones are one of the most important classes of cross conjugated NLO chromophores that are reported to exhibit good SHG efficiency, ultra fast optical nonlinearities and are easily crystallizable. The basic structure of chalcones is based on the π-conjugated system in which two aromatic rings are connected by a three-carbon α, β-unsaturated carbonyl system. Due to the overlap of π orbitals, delocalization of electronic charge distribution leads to a high mobility of the electron density. On a molecular scale, the extent of charge transfer across the NLO chromophore determines the level of SHG output. Hence, the functionalization of both ends of the π-bond system with appropriate electron donor and acceptor groups can enhance the asymmetric electronic distribution in either or both ground and excited states, leading to an increased optical nonlinearity. In this research, the experimental and theoretical study on the structure and vibrations of (2E)-3-[4-(methylsulfanyl) phenyl]-1-(3-bromophenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (3Br4MSP) is presented. The FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of the NLO material in the solid phase have been recorded. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at B3LYP with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set were carried out to study the equilibrium geometry, vibrational wavenumbers, infrared absorbance and Raman scattering activities. The interpretation of vibrational features (normal mode assignments, for instance) has an invaluable aid from DFT calculations that provide a quantum-mechanical description of the electronic energies and forces involved. Perturbation theory allows one to obtain the vibrational normal modes by estimating the derivatives of the Kohn−Sham energy with respect to atomic displacements. The molecular hyperpolarizability β plays a chief role in the NLO properties, and a systematical study on β has been carried out. Furthermore, the first order hyperpolarizability (β) and the related properties such as dipole moment (μ) and polarizability (α) of the title molecule are evaluated by Finite Field (FF) approach. The electronic α and β of the studied molecule are 41.907×10-24 and 79.035×10-24 e.s.u. respectively, indicating that 3Br4MSP can be used as a good nonlinear optical material.

Keywords: DFT, MEP, NLO, vibrational spectra

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Authors: Roger M. Wall, David G. Proverbs, Yamina Silva, Danny Scipion

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This paper critically reviews the outcomes of a 4 day workshop focused on building resilience to El Niño related Flood Events in northern Perú. The workshop was run jointly by Birmingham City University (BCU) in partnership with Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) and was hosted by the Universidad de Piura (UDEP). The event took place in August 2018 and was funded by the Newton-Paulet fund administered by the British Council. The workshop was a response to the severe flooding experienced in Piura during the El Niño event of March 2017 which damaged over 100,000 homes and destroyed much local infrastructure including around 100 bridges. El Niño is a recurrent event and there is concern that its frequency and intensity may change in the future as a consequence of climate change. A group of 40 early career researchers and practitioners from the UK and Perú were challenged with working together across disciplines to identify key cross-cutting themes and make recommendations for building resilience to similar future events. Key themes identified on day 1 of the workshop were governance; communities; risk information; river management; urban planning; health; and infrastructure. A field study visit took place on day 2 so that attendees could gain first-hand experience of affected and displaced communities. Each of the themes was then investigated in depth on day 3 by small interdisciplinary teams drawing on their own expertise, local knowledge and the experiences of the previous day’s field trip. Teams were responsible for developing frameworks for analysis of their chosen theme and presenting their findings to the whole group. At this point, teams worked together to develop links between the different themes so that an integrated approach could be developed and presented on day 4. This paper describes the approaches taken by each team and the way in which these were integrated to form an holistic picture of the whole system. The findings highlighted the importance of risk-related information and the need for strong governance structures to enforce planning regulations and development. The structured facilitation approach proved to be very effective and it is recommended that the process be repeated with a broader group of stakeholders from across the region.

Keywords: El Niño, integrated flood risk management, Perú, structured facilitation, systems approach, resilience

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Authors: Felippe Clemente, Evaldo Henrique da Silva

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The need to adopt some type of industrial policy and innovation in Brazil is a recurring theme in the discussion of public interventions aimed at boosting economic growth. For many years, the country has adopted various policies to change its productive structure in order to increase the participation of sectors that would have the greatest potential to generate innovation and economic growth. Only in the 2000s, tax incentives as a policy to support industrial and technological innovation are being adopted in Brazil as a phenomenon associated with rates of productivity growth and economic development. In this context, in late 2004 and 2005, Brazil reformulated its institutional apparatus for innovation in order to approach the OECD conventions and the Frascati Manual. The Innovation Law (2004) and the 'Lei do Bem' (2005) reduced some institutional barriers to innovation, provided incentives for university-business cooperation, and modified access to tax incentives for innovation. Chapter III of the 'Lei do Bem' (no. 11,196/05) is currently the most comprehensive fiscal incentive to stimulate innovation. It complies with the requirements, which stipulates that the Union should encourage innovation in the company or industry by granting tax incentives. With its introduction, the bureaucratic procedure was simplified by not requiring pre-approval of projects or participation in bidding documents. However, preliminary analysis suggests that this instrument has not yet been able to stimulate the sector diversification of these investments in Brazil, since its benefits are mostly captured by sectors that already developed this activity, thus showing problems with moral hazard. It is necessary, then, to analyze the 'Lei do Bem' to know if there is indeed the need for some change, investigating what changes should be implanted in the Brazilian innovation policy. This work, therefore, shows itself as a first effort to analyze a current national problem, evaluating the effectiveness of the 'Lei do Bem' and suggesting public policies that help and direct the State to the elaboration of legislative laws capable of encouraging agents to follow what they describes. As a preliminary result, it is known that 130 firms used fiscal incentives for innovation in 2006, 320 in 2007 and 552 in 2008. Although this number is on the rise, it is still small, if it is considered that there are around 6 thousand firms that perform Research and Development (R&D) activities in Brazil. Moreover, another obstacle to the 'Lei do Bem' is the percentages of tax incentives provided to companies. These percentages reveal a significant sectoral correlation between R&D expenditures of large companies and R&D expenses of companies that accessed the 'Lei do Bem', reaching a correlation of 95.8% in 2008. With these results, it becomes relevant to investigate the law's ability to stimulate private investments in R&D.

Keywords: brazilian innovation system, moral hazard, R&D, Lei do Bem

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Authors: Francisco Pereira, António Augusto Vicente, Filipe Vaz, Joel Borges, Pedro Geada

Abstract:

Light is a growth-limiting factor in microalgae cultivation, where factors like spectral components, intensity, and duration, often characterized by its wavelength, are well-reported to have a substantial impact on cell growth rates and, consequently, photosynthetic performance and mitigation of CO2, one of the most significant greenhouse gases (GHGs). Photobioreactors (PBRs) are commonly used to grow microalgae under controlled conditions, but they often fail to provide an even light distribution to the cultures. For this reason, there is a pressing need for innovations aiming at enhancing the efficient utilization of light. So, one potential approach to address this issue is by implementing plasmonic films, such as the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). LSPR is an optical phenomenon connected to the interaction of light with metallic nanostructures. LSPR excitation is characterized by the oscillation of unbound conduction electrons of the nanoparticles coupled with the electromagnetic field from incident light. As a result of this excitation, highly energetic electrons and a strong electromagnetic field are generated. These effects lead to an amplification of light scattering, absorption, and extinction of specific wavelengths, contingent on the nature of the employed nanoparticle. Thus, microalgae might benefit from this biotechnology as it enables the selective filtration of inhibitory wavelengths and harnesses the electromagnetic fields produced, which could lead to enhancements in both biomass and metabolite productivity. This study aimed at implementing and evaluating a “plasmon-enhanced PBR”. The goal was to utilize LSPR thin films to enhance the growth and CO2 bio-fixation rate of Chlorella vulgaris. The internal/external walls of the PBRs were coated with a TiO2 matrix containing different nanoparticles (Au, Ag, and Au-Ag) in order to evaluate the impact of this approach on microalgae’s performance. Plasmonic films with distinct compositions resulted in different Chlorella vulgaris growth, ranging from 4.85 to 6.13 g.L-1. The highest cell concentrations were obtained with the metallic Ag films, demonstrating a 14% increase compared to the control condition. Moreover, it appeared to be no differences in growth between PBRs with inner and outer wall coatings. In terms of CO2 bio-fixation, distinct rates were obtained depending on the coating applied, ranging from 0.42 to 0.53 gCO2L-1d-1. Ag coating was demonstrated to be the most effective condition for carbon fixation by C. vulgaris. The impact of LSPR films on the biochemical characteristics of biomass (e.g., proteins, lipids, pigments) was analysed as well. Interestingly, Au coating yielded the most significant enhancements in protein content and total pigments, with increments of 15 % and 173 %, respectively, when compared to the PBR without any coating (control condition). Overall, the incorporation of plasmonic films in PBRs seems to have the potential to improve the performance and efficiency of microalgae cultivation, thereby representing an interesting approach to increase both biomass production and GHGs bio-mitigation.

Keywords: CO₂ bio-fixation, plasmonic effect, photobioreactor, photosynthetic microalgae

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: M. L. W. P. De Silva, R. A. C. Rabel, N. Smith, L. McIntyre, T. J Parkinson, K. A. N. Wijayawardhane

Abstract:

Curricular integration is an important concept in medical education for developing students’ ability to create connections between different medical disciplines. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is one of the vehicles through which such integration can be achieved. During the recent review of the veterinary curriculum at the University of Peradeniya, a series of courses in Integrative Veterinary Science (IVS) were introduced, in which PBL was the primary teaching methodology. The objectives of this study were to evaluate students’ opinions on PBL as a teaching method: it should be noted that, within the context of secondary and tertiary education in Sri Lanka, this would be an entirely novel learning experience for the students. Opinions were sought at the conclusion of IVS sessions where students of semesters 2, 4, 6, and 7 (of an 8-semester program) were exposed to a two, 2-hour PBL-based case scenario. The PBL-based case scenario in semesters 2, 4, and 7 were delivered using material previously developed by an experienced PBL practitioner, whilst material for semester 6 was prepared de novo by a less experienced practitioner. Each student (semesters 2: n=38, 4: n=37, 6: n=55, and 7: n=40) completed a questionnaire which asked whether: (i) the course had improved their critical thinking skills; (ii) the learning environment was sufficiently comfortable to express/share student’s opinion; (iii) there was sufficient facilitator guidance; (iv) the online study environment enhanced learning; and (v) the students were overall satisfied with the PBL approach and IVS concept. Responses were given on a 5-point Likert-scale (strongly agree (SA), agree (A), neutral (N), disagree (D), and strongly disagree (SD)). SA and A responses were summed to provide an overall ‘satisfactory’ response. Results were subjected to frequency-distribution statistical analysis. A total of 88.5% of students gave SA+A scores to their overall satisfaction. The proportion of SA+A scores differed between different semesters, such that 95% of semester 2, 4, and 7 students gave SA+A scores, whereas only 69% of semester 6 students did so for their respective sessions. Overall, 96% of the students gave SA+A scores to the question relating to the improvement of critical thinking skills: semester 6 students’ scores were marginally, but not significantly, lower (91% SA+A) than those in other semesters. The difference of scores between semester 6 and the other semesters may be attributed to the different PBL-material used and/or the different experience levels of the practitioners that developed the study material. The use of PBL as a means of teaching IVS curriculum-integration courses was well-received by the students in terms of their overall satisfaction and their perceptions of improved critical thinking skills. Importantly, this was achieved in the face of a methodology that was entirely novel to the students. Finally, the delivery of the PBL medium was readily mastered by the practitioner to whom it was also a novel methodology.

Keywords: critical thinking skills, integration, problem based learning, veterinary education

Procedia PDF Downloads 104