Search results for: Carlos M. Silva Filho

Authors: Bruno Bacci Fernandes, Stephan Mändl, Ataíde Ribeiro da Silva Junior, José Osvaldo Rossi, Mário Ueda

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Nitrogen implantation in aluminum and its alloys is acquainted for the difficulties in obtaining modified layers deeper than 200 nm. The present work addresses a new method to overcome such a problem; although, the coating with nitrogen and oxygen obtained by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) into a 7075 aluminum alloy surface was too shallow. This alloy is commonly used for structural parts in aerospace applications. Such a layer was characterized by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and nanoindentation experiments reciprocating wear tests. From the results, one can assume that the wear of this aluminum alloy starts presenting severe abrasive wear followed by an additional adhesive mechanism. PIII produced a slight difference, as shown in all characterizations carried out in this work. The results shown here can be used as the scientific basis for further nitrogen PIII experiments in aluminum alloys which have the goal to produce thicker modified layers or to improve their surface properties.

Keywords: Aluminum alloys, plasma immersion ion implantation, tribological properties, hardness, nanofatigue.

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Authors: Juan Carlos Briones Macias

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Currently, the Huancavilca City Park in Guayaquil is an abandoned public space that is discovering a growing problem of insecurity, where various problems have been perceived, such as the lack of green areas, deteriorating furniture, insufficient lighting, the use of inadequate cladding materials and very sunny areas due to the lack of planning in the design of green areas. The objective of this scientific article is to redesign Huancavilca Park through public space design strategies for more attractive and comfortable areas, becoming a point of interaction in a safe and accessible way. A mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) was applied, obtaining information based on surveys, interviews, field observations, and systematizing the data in the traditional weighting of the structuring aspects of the park. The results were obtained from the methodological design scheme of iterative analysis of public spaces by Jan Güell. It is concluded that the use of urban strategies in the structuring elements of the park, such as vegetation, furniture, generating new activities, and security interventions, will specifically solve all the problems of the Huancavilca Park tested in a Pareto 80/20 Diagram.

Keywords: Public space, green areas, vegetation, street furniture, urban analysis.

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

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

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

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Authors: P.L.D.N.M. de Silva, S.G. Edirisinghe, R. Weerasuriya

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High Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) is a concern of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) based Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems. Discrete Fourier Transform spread (DFT-s) OFDM is an alternative single carrier modulation scheme which would address this concern. Employing channel coding techniques is another mechanism to reduce the PAPR. In this study, the improvement which can be harnessed by hybridizing these two techniques for VLC system is being studied. Within the study, efficient techniques such as Hamming coding and Convolutional coding have been studied. Thus, we present the impact of the hybrid of DFT-s OFDM and Channel coding (Hamming coding and Convolutional coding) on PAPR in VLC systems, using MATLAB simulations.

Keywords: Convolutional Coding, Discrete Fourier Transform spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (DFT-s OFDM), Hamming Coding, Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR), Visible Light Communications (VLC).

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Authors: A. Morelos-Gómez, S. M. Vega-Díaz, V. J. González, F. Tristán-López, R. Cruz-Silva , K. Fujisawa, H. Muramatsu , T. Hayashi , Xi Mi , Yunfeng Shi , H. Sakamoto , F. Khoerunnisa , K. Kaneko , B. G. Sumpter , Y.A. Kim , V. Meunier, M. Endo , E. Muñoz-Sandoval, M. Terrones

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A novel physico-chemical route to produce few layer graphene nanoribbons with atomically smooth edges is reported, via acid treatment (H2SO4:HNO3) followed by characteristic thermal shock processes involving extremely cold substances. Samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This method demonstrates the importance of having the nanotubes open ended for an efficient uniform unzipping along the nanotube axis. The average dimensions of these nanoribbons are approximately ca. 210 nm wide and consist of few layers, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. The produced nanoribbons exhibit different chiralities, as observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. This method is able to provide graphene nanoribbons with atomically smooth edges which could be used in various applications including sensors, gas adsorption materials, composite fillers, among others.

Keywords: Carbon nanoribbons, carbon nanotubes, unzipping.

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Authors: Brehme D’napoli Reis de Mesquita, Marcus Vin´ıcius de Souza Almeida, Caio Vin´ıcius Silva do Carmo

Abstract:

Educational robotics has emerged as a pedagogical tool, utilizing technological artifacts to engage students’ curiosity and interest. It fosters active learning of STEM education competencies while also cultivating essential behavioral skills. Robotic competitions provide students with platforms to collaboratively devise diverse solutions to shared problems, fostering experience exchange, collaboration, and personal growth. Despite the prevalence of current robotic competitions, especially in Brazil, simulating real-world challenges like natural disasters, there is a notable absence of industry-related tasks. This article presents an educational robotics initiative centered around material transportation within smart manufacturing using automated guided vehicles. The proposed robotics challenge was executed in a competition held in Ac¸ailˆandia city, Maranh˜ao, Brazil, yielding satisfactory results and inspiring teams to develop time-limited solution strategies.

Keywords: Educational robotics, STEM education, robotic competitions, material transportation, smart manufacturing.

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Authors: Carlos A. D. Torres, Antonio D. Delgado

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In this work we study the thermodynamic behavior of some ventilated facades under summer operating conditions in Southern Spain. Under these climatic conditions, indoor comfort implies a high energetic demand due to high temperatures that usually are reached in this season in the considered geographical area.

The aim of this work is to determine if during summer operating conditions in Southern Spain, ventilated façades provide some energy saving compared to the non-ventilated façades and to deduce their behavior patterns in terms of energy efficiency.

The modelization of the air flow in the channel has been performed by using Navier-Stokes equations for thermodynamic flows. Numerical simulations have been carried out with a 2D Finite Element approach.

This way, we analyze the behavior of ventilated façades under different weather conditions as variable wind, variable temperature and different levels of solar irradiation.

CFD computations show the combined effect of the shading of the external wall and the ventilation by the natural convection into the air gap achieve a reduction of the heat load during the summer period. This reduction has been evaluated by comparing the thermodynamic performances of two ventilated and two unventilated façades with the same geometry and thermophysical characteristics.

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

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Authors: V. Endo, A. G. Silva Sobrinho, F. A. Almeida, N. L. L. Lima, G. M. Manzi, L. G. A. Cirne, N. M. B. L. Zeola

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We used 24 Ile de France lambs, weighing between 15 and 32 kg (BW). Treatments were supplemented with concentrate: “in nature” sugarcane (IN), sugarcane hydrolyzed using 0.6% calcium oxide (CaO) under aerobic condition (AER), and sugarcane hydrolyzed using 0.6% CaO under anaerobic condition (ANA), constituting a completely randomized design with eight repetitions per treatment. Lambs were housed in individual stalls and fed into the through, allowing 10% of leftovers. Lambs were slaughtered when body weight reached 32 kg. The following parameters were determined on Longissimu lumborum muscle of hot and cold carcasses: pH and color, 45 minutes and 24 hours after slaughtering. Qualitative analysis of the meat were performed in the loins, water-holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), and shear force (SF). We used a completely randomized design with three treatments and eight repetitions. Means were compared by Tukey test at 5% significance. A higher value for redness (a*) 45 minutes after slaughter (10.48) were found for lambs fed hydrolyzed under anaerobic conditions sugarcane. The other qualitative characteristics of meat were not affected by treatments (P >0.05). The comparison of meat quality resulting from the treatments shows that it is possible to feed in nature sugarcane to lambs, thus waiving hydrolyses process and the spending with alkalizing agent.

Keywords: Calcium oxide, hydrolysis, meat quality, pH.

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Authors: Carlos Gonzalez

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This paper describes a system to optimize the use of the internet by clients requiring downloading of videos at peak hours. The system consists of a web server belonging to a provider of video contents, a provider of internet communications and a software application running on a client’s computer. The client using the application software will communicate to the video provider a list of the client’s future video demands. The video provider calculates which videos are going to be more in demand for download in the immediate future, and proceeds to request the internet provider the most optimal hours to do the downloading. The times of the downloading will be sent to the application software, which will use the information of pre-established hours negotiated between the video provider and the internet provider to download those videos. The videos will be saved in a special protected section of the user’s hard disk, which will only be accessed by the application software in the client’s computer. When the client is ready to see a video, the application will search the list of current existent videos in the area of the hard disk; if it does exist, it will use this video directly without the need for internet access. We found that the best way to optimize the download traffic of videos is by negotiation between the internet communication provider and the video content provider.

Keywords: Internet optimization, video download, future demands, secure storage.

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Authors: Carlos Vera, Tetyana Baydyk, Ernst Kussul, Graciela Velasco, Miguel Aparicio

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This article describes the Random Subspace Neural Classifier (RSC) for the recognition of meteors in the night sky. We used images of meteors entering the atmosphere at night between 8:00 p.m.-5: 00 a.m. The objective of this project is to classify meteor and star images (with stars as the image background). The monitoring of the sky and the classification of meteors are made for future applications by scientists. The image database was collected from different websites. We worked with RGB-type images with dimensions of 220x220 pixels stored in the BitMap Protocol (BMP) format. Subsequent window scanning and processing were carried out for each image. The scan window where the characteristics were extracted had the size of 20x20 pixels with a scanning step size of 10 pixels. Brightness, contrast and contour orientation histograms were used as inputs for the RSC. The RSC worked with two classes and classified into: 1) with meteors and 2) without meteors. Different tests were carried out by varying the number of training cycles and the number of images for training and recognition. The percentage error for the neural classifier was calculated. The results show a good RSC classifier response with 89% correct recognition. The results of these experiments are presented and discussed.

Keywords: Contour orientation histogram, meteors, night sky, RSC neural classifier, stars.

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Authors: Michele R. Spier, Denise N. X. Salmon, Renato L. Binati, Luíza C. Piva, Adriane B.P. Medeiros, Carlos R. Soccol

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Phytases are enzymes used as an important component in monogastric animals feeds in order to improve phosphorous availability, since it is not readily assimilated by these animals in the form of the phytate presented in plants and grains. As these enzymes are used in industrial activities, they must retain its catalytic activities during a certain storage period. This study presents information about the stability of 4 different phytases, produced by four macromycetes fungi through solid-state fermentation (SSF). There is a lack of data in literature concerning phytase from macromycetes shelf-life in storage conditions at room, cooling and freezing temperatures. The 4 phytases from macromycetes still had enzymatic activities around 100 days of storage at room temperature. At cooling temperature in 146 days of studies, the phytase from G. stipitatum was the most stable with 44% of the initial activity, in U.gds (units per gram of dried fermented substrate). The freezing temperature was the best condition storage for phytases from G. stipitatum and T. versicolor. Each condition provided a study for each mushroom phytase, totalizing 12 studies. The phytases showed to be stable for a long period without the addition of additives.

Keywords: macromycetes, phytase, solid-state fermentation, wheat bran, stability

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Authors: Mustapha Shitu Suleiman, Francis Neshamba, Nestor Valero-Silva

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Small businesses are considered as engine of economic growth, contributing to employment generation, wealth creation, and poverty alleviation and food security in both developed and developing countries. Nigeria is facing many socio-economic problems and it is believed that by supporting small business development, as propellers of new ideas and more effective users of resources, often driven by individual creativity and innovation, Nigeria would be able to address some of its economic and social challenges, such as unemployment and economic diversification. Using secondary literature, this paper examines the role small businesses can play in the creation of jobs in North-West Nigeria to overcome issues of unemployment, which is the most devastating economic challenge facing the region. Most studies in this area have focused on Nigeria as a whole and only a few studies provide a regional focus, hence, this study will contribute to knowledge by filling this gap by concentrating on North-West Nigeria. It is hoped that with the present administration’s determination to improve the economy, small businesses would be used as vehicles for diversification of the economy away from crude oil to create jobs that would lead to a reduction in the country’s high unemployment level.

Keywords: Job creation, North-West Nigeria, small business, unemployment.

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Authors: Camilo Aldana, Sara Cabra, Carlos A. Ospina, Fredy Carvajal, Fernando Rodríguez

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It has been proven that early establishment of microbial flora in digestive tract of ruminants, has a beneficial effect on their health condition and productivity. A probiotic compound, made from five bacteria isolated from adult bovine cattle, was dosed to 15 Holstein newborn calves in order to measure its capacity of improving body weight gain and reduce diarrhea incidence. The test was performed in the municipality of Cajicá (Colombia), at 2580 m.a.s.l., throughout rainy season, with environmental temperature that oscillated between 4 to 25 °C. Five calves were allotted to control (no addition of probiotic). Treatments 1, and 2 (5 calves per group) received 10 ml Probiotic mix 1 and 2, respectively. Probiotic mixes 1 and 2 where similar in microbial composition but different in production process. Probiotics were added to the morning milk and dosed on a daily basis by a month and then on a weekly basis for three additional months. Diarrhea incidence was measured by observance of number of animals affected in each group; each animal was weighed up on a daily basis for obtaining weight gain and rumen fluid samples were extracted with oro-esophageal catheter for determining level of fiber and grain consumption.

Keywords: Calve, diarrhea, probiotic, rumen microorganisms.

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Authors: Glauber Cruz, Patrícia A. S. Monteiro, Carlos E. M. Braz, Paulo Seleghin Jr., Igor Polikarpov, Paula M.Crnkovic

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Enzymatic hydrolysis is one of the major steps involved in the conversion from sugarcane bagasse to yield ethanol. This process offers potential for yields and selectivity higher, lower energy costs and milder operating conditions than chemical processes. However, the presence of some factors such as lignin content, crystallinity degree of the cellulose, and particle sizes, limits the digestibility of the cellulose present in the lignocellulosic biomasses. Pretreatment aims to improve the access of the enzyme to the substrate. In this study sugarcane bagasse was submitted chemical pretreatment that consisted of two consecutive steps, the first with dilute sulfuric acid (1 % (v/v) H2SO4), and the second with alkaline solutions with different concentrations of NaOH (1, 2, 3 and 4 % (w/v)). Thermal Analysis (TG/ DTG and DTA) was used to evaluate hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin contents in the samples. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the morphological structures of the in natura and chemically treated samples. Results showed that pretreatments were effective in chemical degradation of lignocellulosic materials of the samples, and also was possible to observe the morphological changes occurring in the biomasses after pretreatments.

Keywords: Alkaline solutions, bioethanol production, dilute acid, enzymatic hydrolysis, lignocellulosic biomass.

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Authors: H. C. O. Reis, A. S. Cossolin, B. A. P. Santos, K. C. Castro, G. M. Pereira, V. C. Silva, P. T. Sousa Jr, E. L. Dall’Oglio, L. G. Vasconcelos, E. B. Morais

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In this study, malt bagasse, a low-cost waste biomass, was tested as a biosorbent to remove the cationic dye Malachite green (MG) from aqueous solution. Batch biosorption experiments were investigated as functions of different experimental parameters such as initial pH, salt (NaCl) concentration, contact time, temperature and initial dye concentration. Higher removal rates of MG were obtained at pH 8 and 10. The equilibrium and kinetic studies suggest that the biosorption follows Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was estimated at 117.65 mg/g (at 45 °C). According to Dubinin–Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm model, biosorption of MG onto malt bagasse occurs physically. The thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy indicated that the MG biosorption onto malt bagasse is spontaneous and endothermic. The results of the ionic strength effect indicated that the biosorption process under study had a strong tolerance under high salt concentrations. It can be concluded that malt bagasse waste has potential for application as biosorbent for removal of MG from aqueous solution.

Keywords: Color removal, kinetic and isotherm studies, thermodynamic parameters, FTIR.

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Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Afonso R. Aquino, Veruska C. Dutra, Carlos H. C. Tolentino

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The quality of life index, despite elucidating many discussions, the conceptual subjectivity of the term does not show precision, and consequently, many researchers seek to develop methods aiming to measure this concept, bringing it to a more concrete approach. In this study, the quality of life index method was used to analyze the population of Mateiros, Tocantins, Brazil for quality of life. After data collection, it was compared the quality of life index between the population and the group of beneficiaries of the Brazilian government assistance program Bolsa Família (Family Allowance). Some of the people interviewed receive financial aid from the federal government program Bolsa Família (22%). Comparisons were made among the final score of the quality of life index of the Mateiros population and the following factors: Gender, age, education, those working or not with tourism and those who receive or do not receive the Bolsa Família. It was observed that only the factor, Bolsa Família (p-score 0.0138), shows an association with quality of life improvement, noticing that those who have financial aid had a higher quality of life improvement than the rest of the population. It was concluded that, government assistance has shown a decisive element on the enhancement of Mateiros population quality of life, indicating that similar actions should be maintained.

Keywords: Quality of life index, government aid to families, sustainable tourism, Bolsa Familia.

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Authors: Marco Soares dos Santos, Camila Nicola Boeri, Jorge Augusto Ferreira, Fernando Neto da Silva

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The highly nonlinear characteristics of drying processes have prompted researchers to seek new nonlinear control solutions. However, the relation between the implementation complexity, on-line processing complexity, reliability control structure and controller-s performance is not well established. The present paper proposes high performance nonlinear fuzzy controllers for a real-time operation of a drying machine, being developed under a consistent match between those issues. A PCI-6025E data acquisition device from National Instruments® was used, and the control system was fully designed with MATLAB® / SIMULINK language. Drying parameters, namely relative humidity and temperature, were controlled through MIMOs Hybrid Bang-bang+PI (BPI) and Four-dimensional Fuzzy Logic (FLC) real-time-based controllers to perform drying tests on biological materials. The performance of the drying strategies was compared through several criteria, which are reported without controllers- retuning. Controllers- performance analysis has showed much better performance of FLC than BPI controller. The absolute errors were lower than 8,85 % for Fuzzy Logic Controller, about three times lower than the experimental results with BPI control.

Keywords: Drying control, Fuzzy logic control, Intelligent temperature-humidity control.

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Authors: Jonathan D. Morales M., Ramón Silva R.

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The purpose of this project is to carry out an analysis and determine the profile of actual lean manufacturing processes in the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga. Through the analysis of qualitative and quantitative variables it was possible to establish how these manufacturers develop production practices that ensure their competitiveness and productivity in the market. In this study, a random sample of metallurgic and wrought iron companies was applied, following which a quantitative focus and analysis was used to formulate a qualitative methodology for measuring the level of lean manufacturing procedures in the industry. A qualitative evaluation was also carried out through a multivariate analysis using the Numerical Taxonomy System (NTSYS) program which should allow for the determination of Lean Manufacturing profiles. Through the results it was possible to observe how the companies in the sector are doing with respect to Lean Manufacturing Practices, as well as identify the level of management that these companies practice with respect to this topic. In addition, it was possible to ascertain that there is no one dominant profile in the sector when it comes to Lean Manufacturing. It was established that the companies in the metallurgic and wrought iron industry show low levels of Lean Manufacturing implementation. Each one carries out diverse actions that are insufficient to consolidate a sectoral strategy for developing a competitive advantage which enables them to tie together a production strategy.

Keywords: Lean manufacturing, metallurgic industry, production line management, productivity.

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Authors: Mario Gómez, Won Ho Kim, Ángel Licona, José Carlos Rodríguez

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This article analyzes innovation activity in Mexico and South Korea. It develops an econometric model to test for structural breaks in the number of patent applications filed by residents and nonresidents in these countries during the period of 1965 to 2012. These changes may suggest that firms’ innovative capabilities have changed because of implementing different science, technology and innovation (STI) policies in Mexico and South Korea. Two important features characterize this research from others already developed by these authors. First, the theoretical research framework in this research is the debate between the assimilation view of growth and the accumulation view of growth. This characteristic suggests that trade liberalization should be accompanied by an adequate STI policy to boost competitiveness among indigenous firms. Second, the analysis in this research stresses the importance of key actors (e.g. governments) to successfully develop innovation capabilities among indigenous firms. Therefore, the question conducting this research is how STI policies in Mexico and South Korea contributed to develop firms’ innovation capabilities in these countries during last decades? The results from this research suggests that STI policy in South Korea was more suitable to boost innovation firms to compete in markets. Data to develop this research was released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Keywords: Econometric methods, innovation, Mexico, South Korea, STI Policy.

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Authors: Marco Leite, J. M. Vilas-Boas da Silva, Isabel Duarte de Almeida

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New Product Development (NPD) has got its roots on an Engineering background. Thus, one might wonder about the interest, opportunity, contents and delivery process, if students from soft sciences were involved. This paper addressed «What to teach?» and «How to do it?», as the preliminary research questions that originated the introduced propositions. The curriculum-developer model that was purposefully chosen to adapt the coursebook by pursuing macro/micro strategies was found significant by an exploratory qualitative case study. Moreover, learning was developed and value created by implementing the institutional curriculum through a creative, hands-on, experiencing, problem-solving, problem-based but organized teamwork approach. Product design of an orange squeezer complying with ill-defined requirements, including drafts, sketches, prototypes, CAD simulations and a business plan, plus a website, written reports and presentations were the deliverables that confirmed an innovative contribution towards research and practice of teaching and learning of engineering subjects to non-specialist operations managers candidates.

Keywords: Teaching Engineering to Non-specialists, Operations Managers Education, Teamwork, Product Design and Development, Market- driven NPD, Curriculum development.

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Authors: Francisco José Plácido da Cunha, Tassio Ferenzini Martins Sirqueira, Marx Leles Viana, Carlos José Pereira de Lucena

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Open Multiagent Systems (MASs) are societies in which heterogeneous and independently designed entities (agents) work towards similar, or different ends. Software agents are autonomous and the diversity of interests among different members living in the same society is a fact. In order to deal with this autonomy, these open systems use mechanisms of social control (norms) to ensure a desirable social order. This paper considers the following types of norms: (i) obligation — agents must accomplish a specific outcome; (ii) permission — agents may act in a particular way, and (iii) prohibition — agents must not act in a specific way. All of these characteristics mean to encourage the fulfillment of norms through rewards and to discourage norm violation by pointing out the punishments. Once the software agent decides that its priority is the satisfaction of its own desires and goals, each agent must evaluate the effects associated to the fulfillment of one or more norms before choosing which one should be fulfilled. The same applies when agents decide to violate a norm. This paper also introduces a framework for the development of MASs that provide support mechanisms to the agent’s decision-making, using norm-based reasoning. The applicability and validation of this approach is demonstrated applying a traffic intersection scenario.

Keywords: BDI aAgent, BDI4JADE framework, multiagent system, normative agents.

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Authors: Carlos Sanchís-Pedregosa, José A. D. M achuca, María del Mar González-Zamora

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The growing outsourcing of logistics services resulting from the ongoing current in firms of costs reduction/increased efficiency means that it is becoming more and more important for the companies doing the outsourcing to carry out a proper evaluation. The multiple definitions and measures of logistics service performance found in research on the topic create a certain degree of confusion and do not clear the way towards the proper measurement of their performance. Do a model and a specific set of indicators exist that can be considered appropriate for measuring the performance of logistics services outsourcing in industrial environments? Are said indicators in keeping with the objectives pursued by outsourcing? We aim to answer these and other research questions in the study we have initiated in the field within the framework of the international High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project of which this paper forms part. As the first stage of this research, this paper reviews articles dealing with the topic published in the last 15 years with the aim of detecting the models most used to make this measurement and determining which performance indicators are proposed as part of said models and which are most used. The first steps are also taken in determining whether these indicators, financial and operational, cover the aims that are being pursued when outsourcing logistics services. The findings show there is a wide variety of both models and indicators used. This would seem to testify to the need to continue with our research in order to try to propose a model and a set of indicators for measuring the performance of logistics services outsourcing in industrial environments.

Keywords: Logistics, objectives, outsourcing, performancemeasurement systems

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Authors: Niall J. English, Sylvia Leatham, Maria Isabel Meza Silva, Denis P. Dowling

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The training and education of under- and post-graduate students can be promoted by more active learning especially in engineering, overcoming more passive and vicarious experiences and approaches in their documented effectiveness. However, the possibility of outreach to young pupils and school-children in primary and secondary schools is a lesser explored area in terms of Education and Public Engagement (EPE) efforts – as relates to feedback and influence on shaping 3rd-level engineering training and education. Therefore, the outreach and school-visit agenda constitutes an interesting avenue to observe how active learning, careers stimulus and EPE efforts for young children and teenagers can teach the university sector, to improve future engineering-teaching standards and enhance both quality and capabilities of practice. This intervention involved careers-outreach efforts to lead to statistical determinations of motivations towards engineering, manufacturing and training. The aim was to gauge to what extent this intervention would lead to an increased careers awareness in engineering, using the method of the schools-visits programme as the means for so doing. It was found that this led to an increase in engagement by school pupils with engineering as a career option and a greater awareness of the importance of manufacturing. 

Keywords: outreach, education and public engagement, careers, peer interactions

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Authors: Juliana da Silva Cardoso, Cláudia Correia, Rita Gomes, Carolina Fraga, Inês Cascais, Sara Monteiro, Beatriz Teixeira, Sandra Ribeiro, Carolina Andrade, Cláudia Oliveira, Diana Gonzaga, Catarina Prior, Inês Vaz Matos

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The average daily screen time (ST) has been increasing in children, even at young ages. This seems to be associated with a higher incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, and as the time of exposure increases, the greater is the functional impact. This study aims to compare the daily ST of toddlers and preschoolers previously and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was applied by telephone to parents/caregivers of children between 1 and 5 years old, followed up at four primary care units belonging to the Group of Primary Health Care Centers of Western Porto, Portugal. A total of 520 children were included: 52.9% male, mean age 39.4 ± 13.9 months. The mean age of first exposure to screens was 13.9 ± 8.0 months, and most of the children were exposed to more than one screen daily. Considering the WHO recommendations, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 385 (74.0%) and 408 (78.5%) children had excessive ST during the week and the weekend, respectively; during the lockdown, these values increased to 495 (95.2%) and 482 (92.7%). Maternal education and both the child's median age and the median age of first exposure to screens had a statistically significant association with excessive ST, with OR 0.2 (p = 0.03, CI 95% 0.07-0.86), OR 1.1 (p = 0.01, 95% CI 1.05-1.14) and OR 0.9 (p = 0.05, 95% CI 0. 87-0.98), respectively. Most children in this sample had a higher than recommended ST, which increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results are worrisome and point to the need for urgent intervention.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, preschoolers, screen time, toddlers

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Authors: Andrea Tundis, Carlos García Cordero, Rolf Egert, Alfredo Garro, Max Mühlhäuser

Abstract:

Resilience is an important system property that relies on the ability of a system to automatically recover from a degraded state so as to continue providing its services. Resilient systems have the means of detecting faults and failures with the added capability of automatically restoring their normal operations. Mastering resilience in the domain of Cyber-Physical Systems is challenging due to the interdependence of hybrid hardware and software components, along with physical limitations, laws, regulations and standards, among others. In order to overcome these challenges, this paper presents a modeling approach, based on the concept of Dynamic Cells, tailored to the management of Smart Grids. Additionally, a heuristic algorithm that works on top of the proposed modeling approach, to find resilient configurations, has been defined and implemented. More specifically, the model supports a flexible representation of Smart Grids and the algorithm is able to manage, at different abstraction levels, the resource consumption of individual grid elements on the presence of failures and faults. Finally, the proposal is evaluated in a test scenario where the effectiveness of such approach, when dealing with complex scenarios where adequate solutions are difficult to find, is shown.

Keywords: Cyber-physical systems, energy management, optimization, smart grids, self-healing, resilience, security.

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Authors: Antônio Carlos da Rocha Costa

Abstract:

This paper concerns a formal model to help the simulation of agent societies where institutional roles and institutional links can be specified operationally. That is, this paper concerns institutional roles that can be specified in terms of a minimal behavioral capability that an agent should have in order to enact that role and, thus, to perform the set of institutional functions that role is responsible for. Correspondingly, the paper concerns institutional links that can be specified in terms of a minimal interactional capability that two agents should have in order to, while enacting the two institutional roles that are linked by that institutional link, perform for each other the institutional functions supported by that institutional link. The paper proposes a cognitive architecture approach to institutional roles and institutional links, that is, an approach in which a institutional role is seen as an abstract cognitive architecture that should be implemented by any concrete agent (or set of concrete agents) that enacts the institutional role, and in which institutional links are seen as interactions between the two abstract cognitive agents that model the two linked institutional roles. We introduce a cognitive architecture for such purpose, called the Institutional BCC (IBCC) model, which lifts Yoav Shoham-s BCC (Beliefs-Capabilities-Commitments) agent architecture to social contexts. We show how the resulting model can be taken as a means for a cognitive architecture account of institutional roles and institutional links of agent societies. Finally, we present an example of a generic scheme for certain fragments of the social organization of agent societies, where institutional roles and institutional links are given in terms of the model.

Keywords: Simulation of agent societies, institutional roles, cognitive architecture of institutional roles.

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Authors: Erika K. Méndez, Carlos E. Orrego, Diana L. Manrique, Juan D. Gonzalez, Doménica Vallejo

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High moisture content in fruits generates post-harvest problems such as mechanical, biochemical, microbial and physical losses. Dehydration, which is based on the reduction of water activity of the fruit, is a common option for overcoming such losses. However, regular hot air drying could affect negatively the quality properties of the fruit due to the long residence time at high temperature. Power ultrasound (US) application during the convective drying has been used as a novel method able to enhance drying rate and, consequently, to decrease drying time. In the present study, a new approach was tested to evaluate the effect of US on the drying time, the final antioxidant activity (AA) and the total polyphenol content (TPC) of banana slices (BS), mango slices (MS) and guava slices (GS). There were also studied the drying kinetics with nine different models from which water effective diffusivities (Deff) (with or without shrinkage corrections) were calculated. Compared with the corresponding control tests, US assisted drying for fruit slices showed reductions in drying time between 16.23 and 30.19%, 11.34 and 32.73%, and 19.25 and 47.51% for the MS, BS and GS respectively. Considering shrinkage effects, Deff calculated values ranged from 1.67*10-10 to 3.18*10-10 m2/s, 3.96*10-10 and 5.57*10-10 m2/s and 4.61*10-10 to 8.16*10-10 m2/s for the BS, MS and GS samples respectively. Reductions of TPC and AA (as DPPH) were observed compared with the original content in fresh fruit data in all kinds of drying assays.

Keywords: Banana, drying, effective diffusivity, guava, mango, ultrasound.

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Authors: M. E. Silva, I. Brás

Abstract:

To study the influence of different organic amendments on the quality of poultry manure compost, three pilot composting trials were carried out with different mixes: poultry manure/carcasse meal/ashes/grape pomace (Pile 1), poultry manure/ cellulosic sludge (Pile 2) and poultry manure (Pile 3). For all piles, wood chips were applied as bulking agent. The process was monitored, over time, by evaluating standard physical and chemical parameters, such as, pH, electric conductivity, moisture, organic matter and ash content, total carbon and total nitrogen content, carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) and content in mineral elements. Piles 1 and 2 reached a thermophilic phase, however having different trends. Pile 1 reached this phase earlier than Pile 2. For both, the pH showed a slight alkaline character and the electric conductivity was lower than 2 mS/cm. Also, the initial C/N value was 22 and reached values lower than 15 at the end of composting process. The total N content of the Pile 1 increased slightly during composting, in contrast with the others piles. At the end of composting process, the phosphorus content ranged between 54 and 236 mg/kg dry matter, for Pile 2 and 3, respectively. Generally, the Piles 1 and 3 exhibited similar heavy metals content. This study showed that organic amendments can be used as carbon source, given that the final composts presented parameters within the range of those recommended in the 2^nd Draft of EU regulation proposal (DG Env.A.2 2001) for compost quality.

Keywords: Co-composting, compost quality, organic amendments, poultry manure.

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Authors: Jenny Paola Forero Pachón, Sonia Cristina Gamboa Sarmiento, Luis Carlos Gómez Flórez

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The Colombian government has defined an e-government strategy to take advantage of Information Technologies (IT) in order to contribute to the building of a more efficient, transparent and participative State that provides better services to citizens and businesses. In this regard, the Justice sector is one of the government sectors where IT has generated more expectation considering that the country has a judicial processes backlog. This situation has led to the search for alternative forms of access to justice that speed up the process while providing a low cost for citizens. To this end, the Colombian government has authorized the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods (ADR), a remedy where disputes can be resolved more quickly compared to judicial processes while facilitating greater communication between the parties, without recourse to judicial authority. One of these methods is conciliation, which includes a special modality that takes advantage of IT for the development of itself known as virtual conciliation. With this option the conciliation is supported by information systems, applications or platforms and communications are provided through it. This paper evaluates the level of maturity in how the service of virtual conciliation is under the framework of this strategy. This evaluation is carried out considering Shahkooh's 5-phase model for e-government. As a result, it is evident that in the context of conciliation, maturity does not reach the necessary level in the model so that it can be considered as virtual conciliation; therefore, it is necessary to define strategies to maximize the potential of IT in this context.

Keywords: Alternative dispute resolution, e-government, evaluation of maturity, Shahkooh model, virtual conciliation.

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Authors: Carlos H. Cuadra

Abstract:

Seismic isolation can be used as a retrofit method for historical buildings with the advantage that minimum intervention on super-structure is required. However, selection of isolation devices depends on weight and stiffness of upper structure. In this study, two buildings are considered for analyses to evaluate the applicability of this retrofitting methodology. Both buildings are located at Akita prefecture in the north part of Japan. One building is a wooden structure that corresponds to the old council meeting hall of Noshiro city. The second building is a brick masonry structure that was used as house of a foreign mining engineer and it is located at Ani town. Ambient vibration measurements were performed on both buildings to estimate their dynamic characteristics. Then, target period of vibration of isolated systems is selected as 3 seconds is selected to estimate required stiffness of isolation devices. For wooden structure, which is a light construction, it was found that natural rubber isolators in combination with friction bearings are suitable for seismic isolation. In case of masonry building elastomeric isolator can be used for its seismic isolation. Lumped mass systems are used for seismic response analysis and it is verified in both cases that seismic isolation can be used as retrofitting method of historical construction. However, in the case of the light building, most of the weight corresponds to the reinforced concrete slab that is required to install isolation devices.

Keywords: Historical building, finite element method, masonry structure, seismic isolation, wooden structure.

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