Suchergebnisse

Sales of air conditioning are growing rapidly in buildings, more than tripling between 1990 and 2016. This energy use for air conditioning comes from a combination of rising temperatures, rising population and economic growth. Energy demand for climate control will triple by 2050, consuming more energy than that currently consumed altogether by the United States, the European Union and Japan. This increase in energy will directly impact water consumption, either to directly cool a condenser of an equipment or to serve indirectly as a basis for energy sources such as hydroelectric power that feed these heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Knowing the unique and growing importance of water, a new index, Total Water Impact (TWI) is presented, which allows a holistic comparison of the impact of water use on water, air and evaporative condensation climate systems. 200 and 500 TON (tons of refrigeration) air-cooled and water-cooled systems are theoretically compared to evaluate the general water consumption level. The TWI index is higher in the smallest water condensing system. That is, holistically, water consumption is higher in the water condensing system than in the air condensing system. Thus, this index provides a new insight about energy consumption and ultimately, about sustainability. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The use of renewable energies and energy efficiency improvement systems is sometimes constrained by the investment needed for devices and its installation. However, governments have developed policies to reduce the initial costs to end-users. The increasing number of renewable energy systems can help in the reduction of the global dependency on fossil energy sources, and simultaneously can help to ensure that the carbon dioxide emissions quota is not exceeded, aiming a reduction of the green-house effect. In this sense, this paper presents two best practise case studies. One of them is in the industrial context and other in the residence context, concerning the use of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement strategies. The best practice case study in industrial context involves the renewable energy systems design in an automotive sector factory, making use of solar thermal panels and energy efficiency measures. The non-industrial case study covers the analysis of the energy efficiency improvement using a thermal energy recovery system from hot water used in daily baths or showers. The direct benefits (savings) and indirect (impacts) are analysed for both case studies. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The Triple Helix, as spiral model of innovation that contains multiple relationships in different processes of knowledge enhancement, is a model that, leveraged by the dynamics of interaction between the different institutions and stakeholders, benefits from the role of universities as centers of excellence in education and science, from the private sector as co-creators of knowledge and human capital pickup as well as from the public sector supporting the legal framework and technical support besides the sectoral and territorial political supports. In the business context, especially in rural matrix territories, farmers have developed a crucial role in local development, promoting new development dynamics, not only as producers and employers, but also as investment attractors and stimulating the creation and transfer of knowledge. The reflection on the perspective of the Triple Helix observed in the productive framework of the agricultural sector is not firmly established or settled. In this context, this paper aims to discuss the model of the Triple Helix based on relations between the Academy and R&D-Agricultural Production-Government spheres focused on the sector of stone fruit, using the region of Beira Interior as case study. This region stands out for the many changes that have led to the establishment of interdependencies of the agricultural sector, research and education centers and various economic and social agents with a relevant role in the development of sector of stone fruit. Thus, this work aims to map the regional actors with an active role in sector and, on the other hand, to present the dynamics of institutional interactions that attained the creation of the PRUNUS network - resources and human capital enhancements. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The concept of Precision Agriculture is usually associated with the usage of high-end technology equipment (hardware or software) to evaluate or monitor the conditions of a determined portion of land, adjusting afterwards the production factors, like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, growing regulators, water, according to differential detected characteristics. This paper describes an algorithm developed to analyze and process images to recognize fruits, particularly peaches, and calculate it dimensions, like volume and weight. The recognition of peaches on their natural conditions on trees depends on several spatial- and time-variable parameters and requires complex segmentation algorithms. The proposed algorithm applies image segmentation for extraction of characteristics such as color and shape. These characteristics were used to train a classification method through a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to improve the recognition rate of fruits. The algorithm is designed to acquire images with a high-resolution camera installed in a drone that will fly between the tree lines. The production prediction of 29.3 tons per hectare was obtained based on volume and relation weight/volume calculated for the recognized peaches. An overall precision of 72% was achieved for the prediction rate of peaches in orchards (808 trees/ha). This is the first study regarding the application of these concepts under orchard trees aiming the production prediction along the fruit maturation. Other useful future applications are foreseen in orchard trees, related not only to production prediction, for this type of algorithm. ; Project "PrunusBOT – Sistema robótico aéreo autónomo de pulverização controlada e previsão de produção frutícola", n.º PDR2020-101-031358, funded by Rural Development Program of the Portuguese Government - Programa de Desenvolvimento Rural (PDR 2020), Portugal 2020. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This work has been supported by the project Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000017 - EMaDeS - Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development, co-financed by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT 2020), within the Regional Operational Program of the Center (CENTRO 2020) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors wish to thank the opportunity and financial support that permitted to carry on this project. ; Refrigeration systems are widely accepted as a mean to prevent food degradation. These systems usually rely on fin-and-tube heat exchangers to lower the air temperature. Due to long operation times and surface temperatures below dew point, frost may form and accumulate on the evaporators fin surface. This frost accumulation reduces and may clog the airflow, decreasing the system efficiency. Usually, most systems use a time-controlled system (stopping the compressor with or without powering a heating resistor inserted among fins to heat) to melt the ice. This method does not measure or predict the amount of frost formed, thus it is not reliable. Ice sensors that are cheap, reliable and easy to implement in commercial systems are studied. A resistive sensor is purposed, that measures the voltage between two electrodes with the water phase change (condensation and solidification -freezing-), as these states have different resistive values. Different electrode materials, morphologies and configurations are studied in order to obtain the best design. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This work has been supported by the project Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000017 - EMaDeS - Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development, co-financed by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT 2020), within the Regional Operational Program of the Center (CENTRO 2020) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors wish to thank the opportunity and financial support that permitted to carry on this project. ; Fin-and-tube heat exchangers (HX) have wide application in the industry. The study of HXs with reduced tube diameter has allowed the development of more compact and equally efficient equipment. Most of the HXs of this type are composed of flat fins, not only due to the ease of construction but also to their reliability in long-term operation and reduced friction characteristics. The formulation of mathematical equations that predict the effect of the geometric characteristics on the heat transfer and friction factors of the HXs lead many researchers to try to establish correlations that approximate the experimental results. In this paper is developed a computational tool based on literature correlations is used to evaluate the Colburn and friction factors for flat fin-and-tube compact HXs. The results of predictions show the Colburn and friction factors behavior for different geometrical parameters (fin pitch, tube diameter, tube number) and typical Reynolds number. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Refrigeration is one of the key elements for food preservation. With global temperatures increasing due to global warming, the efficiency in refrigerated storage systems must be improved. One of the problems that is yet to be solved in these systems is the efficient and accurate removal of the frost formed on the heat exchanger surface. In previous works, a low-cost resistive sensor has been developed to detect frost formation for accurate removal. This paper shows the results of an experimental study carried out to increase the accuracy, by placing different configurations of a fabric medium in between the sensor electrodes. ; This study is within the activities of project "Pack2Life – High performance packaging", project IDT in consortium No.33792, call No.03/SI/2017, Ref. POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033792, promoted by COMPETE 2020 and co-funded by FEDER within Portugal 2020. This work has been supported by the project Centro-01-0145-FEDER000017 - EMaDeS - Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development, co-funded by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT 2020), within the Regional Operational Program of the Center (CENTRO 2020) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors thank the opportunity and financial support to carry on this project to Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and R&D Unit "Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies" (C-MAST), under project UIDB/00151/2020. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The Triple Helix model is a model of development that is based on the involvement of three spheres - Academia, Industry and State Organizations - that cooperate and interact to consolidate economic development based on knowledge and innovation. The application of the model to the agricultural sector is still little rooted. The main goal of the project "+peach - Innovation and development in the peach tree culture in the region of Beira Interior", is to contribute to increase the global value of the activity through the performance of various cultural techniques and enhancement of its product - the peach, This project develops in a structure and organization of the Triple Helix model, in which the sphere of industry is occupied by fruit growers and Producer Organizations. The most relevant aspects of this regional-based initiative is the contribution to the creation of a knowledge network, the complementarity of the tasks carried out by the actors and the planning of future actions in a bottom-up perspective. It is highlighted as a very positive feature, the dynamic work from space zone of intersection of the different spheres whose synergy enhanced innovation and pro-active and collaborative work. The maintenance or strength of it is now dependent on governmental Sphere and closely associated to time needed to make decisions. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This review article provides an update of the empirical research on cognitive fragility conducted in the last four years. The studies retrieved were classified in four different categories. The first category includes articles relating cognitive frailty to cognitive reserve and which continue to highlight the importance of educational level. The second category includes recent research on cognitive fragility biomarkers, involving neuroimaging, metabolism and, in a novel way, microbiota. The third category includes research on how cognitive frailty is related to motor development and physical functioning, exploring e.g. the use of technology to study motor markers of cognitive frailty. Finally, in the fourth category, research clarifying the difference between reversible frailty and potentially reversible cognitive frailty has led to new interventions aimed at reducing cognitive frailty and preventing negative health outcomes. Interventions based on physical activity and multicomponent interventions are particularly emphasized. In addition, recent research explores the long-term effects of dual interventions in older adults living in nursing homes. In summary, research on cognitive frailty has increased in recent years, and applied aspects have gained importance ; This work was financially supported through FEDER founds (A way to make Europe) by the Spanish AEI (doi:10.13039/501100011033; Refs. PID2020-114521RB-C21 and PSI2017-89389-C2-1-R) and by the Galician Government (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; GI-1807-USC: Ref. ED431C 2021/04). CB was supported by a Research Initiation Grant from the University of Santiago de Compostela, co-financed by Banco Santander. The funders were not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication ; SI

This experimental task was performed using 8 sustainable Bio-Boxes in the thermal chamber in the laboratory. The air is forced from the refrigerator, and it is used to control the temperature inside the thermal chamber. The goal of the performed task is to evaluate the thermal behaviour of the bio Boxes made from different material, such as sugarcane bagasse and PLA material with respect to time. The test was performed to lower the temperature inside the chamber to its minimum air temperature inside the cold chamber. The results show that the SCB 4 has noticed changes in its mechanical properties (Tensile Strength) and it also shown some moisture absorbing when compared to other Bio boxes. Furthermore, this kind of Bio packaging materials needs more research to improve their mechanical and barrier properties and minimise the use of plastic containers for food packaging industry. ; This study is within the activities of project "Pack2Life – High performance packaging", project IDT in consortium No 33792, call No 03/SI/2017, Ref. POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033792, promoted by COMPETE 2020 and co-funded by FEDER within Portugal 2020. This work has been supported by the project Centro-01-0145-FEDER000017 - EMaDeS - Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development, co-funded by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT 2020), within the Regional Operational Program of the Center (CENTRO 2020) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors thank the opportunity and financial support to carry on this project to Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and R&D Unit "Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies" (C-MAST), under project UIDB/00151/2020. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

© 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Immunology published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ; SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a human pathogen, causing clinical signs, from fever to pneumonia-COVID-19-but may remain mild or asymptomatic. To understand the continuing spread of the virus, to detect those who are and were infected, and to follow the immune response longitudinally, reliable and robust assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection and immunological monitoring are needed. We quantified IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) or the Spike (S) protein over a period of 6 months following COVID-19 onset. We report the detailed setup to monitor the humoral immune response from over 300 COVID-19 hospital patients and healthcare workers, 2500 University staff, and 198 post-COVID-19 volunteers. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses follow a classic pattern with a rapid increase within the first three weeks after symptoms. Although titres reduce subsequently, the ability to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies remained robust with confirmed neutralization activity for up to 6 months in a large proportion of previously virus-positive screened subjects. Our work provides detailed information for the assays used, facilitating further and longitudinal analysis of protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, it highlights a continued level of circulating neutralising antibodies in most people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2. ; We like to acknowledge the funding from the European Union H2020 ERA project (No 667824 – EXCELLtoINNOV) and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to P.F‐C. (SFRH/BD/131605/2017), PTDC/MED‐IMU/28003/2017, and research4COVID19 (no. 231_596873172, Generating SARS‐CoV2 seroconversion assay and no. 729, High‐throughput SARS‐CoV2 neutralizing antibodies assessment), with ...