Browsing by Author "Marques, A."
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- Adiposity indicators and cardiovascular risk factors in Azorean adolescentsPublication . Moreira, C.; Santos, R.; Vale, S.; Santos, Paula Clara; Marques, A.; Abreu, S.; Soares-Miranda, L.; Mota, J.This study was conducted to evaluate the association of adiposity indicators (body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio) with cardiovascular risk factors in lean andobese Azorean adolescents.
- An intelligent tutoring system for operators’ training in power system control centresPublication . Faria, Luiz; Silva, António S.; Vale, Zita; Ramos, Carlos; Marques, A.The activity of Control Center operators is important to guarantee the effective performance of Power Systems. Operators’ actions are crucial to deal with incidents, especially severe faults, like blackouts. In this paper we present an Intelligent Tutoring approach for training Portuguese Control Centre operators in tasks like incident analysis and diagnosis, and service restoration of Power Systems. Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) approach is used in the training of the operators, taking into account context awareness and the unobtrusive integration in the working environment.
- Committed to quality in physical activity programmes for elderly people – The customer resultsPublication . Marques, A.; Soares, P.; Soares-Miranda, L.; Santos, Paula Clara; Moreira, C.; Vale, S.; Santos, R.; Carvalho, J.There has been a growing concern in conceiving physical activity (PA) programmes for elderly people since the evidence indicates that this type of health promotion interventions may reduce the deleterious effects of the aging process. In Portugal, the Public Administration is the sector that offers the largest supply of goods and services and as such, it is the sector that must devote most attention to Quality Some studies support the EFQM Excellence Model as an operational framework for Total Quality Management. Excellent Results with respect to Performance, Customers, People and Society are achieved through Leadership driving Policy and Strategy that is delivered through People, Partnerships and Resources, as well as Processes. Consequently, the EFQM Model might be used as a self-assessment instrument, to discern the strengths of the programmes, as well as areas in which improvement can be made. The purposes of this study were 1) to examine the existence of customers’ outcomes measurement in Portuguese PA programmes for elderly people, comparing it with programmes’ characteristics and 2) to analyse the associations between the different evaluated items. Data were collected by an on-line questionnaire sent to 26 Coordinators of PA Programmes. Descriptive statistics were used in order to characterize de PA programmes and the participants’ outcome measurement items. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher’s Exact Test and Pearson’s Qui-square test. 57,7 % of the programmes recorded participants’ outcome measures at regular intervals. Most of them (73,3%; p 0.05) were free of charge programmes. Statistically significant associations were found between the following outcomes items: cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, muscular strength, coordination, balance and body composition. Portuguese PA programmes for elderly people showed a feeble attention on participants’ outcome measures, even though the measurement process represents one of the most important components of customer results from an exercise programme. Furthermore, there are significant differences between customers’ outcome measures chosen by each programme.
- Cyber-ambient intelligent training of operators in power systems control centresPublication . Faria, Luiz; Silva, A.; Ramos, Carlos; Vale, Zita; Marques, A.Cyber-Physical Systems and Ambient Intelligence are two of the most important and emerging paradigms of our days. The introduction of renewable sources gave origin to a completely different dimension of the distribution generation problem. On the other hand, Electricity Markets introduced a different dimension in the complexity, the economic dimension. Our goal is to study how to proceed with the Intelligent Training of Operators in Power Systems Control Centres, considering the new reality of Renewable Sources, Distributed Generation, and Electricity Markets, under the emerging paradigms of Cyber-Physical Systems and Ambient Intelligence. We propose Intelligent Tutoring Systems as the approach to deal with the intelligent training of operators in these new circumstances.
- Decision support system with incomplete and domain incoherent information managementPublication . Malheiro, N.; Vale, Zita; Ramos, Carlos; Cordeiro, M.; Marques, A.; Couto, VieiraMany of the most common human functions such as temporal and non-monotonic reasoning have not yet been fully mapped in developed systems, even though some theoretical breakthroughs have already been accomplished. This is mainly due to the inherent computational complexity of the theoretical approaches. In the particular area of fault diagnosis in power systems however, some systems which tried to solve the problem, have been deployed using methodologies such as production rule based expert systems, neural networks, recognition of chronicles, fuzzy expert systems, etc. SPARSE (from the Portuguese acronym, which means expert system for incident analysis and restoration support) was one of the developed systems and, in the sequence of its development, came the need to cope with incomplete and/or incorrect information as well as the traditional problems for power systems fault diagnosis based on SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) information retrieval, namely real-time operation, huge amounts of information, etc. This paper presents an architecture for a decision support system, which can solve the presented problems, using a symbiosis of the event calculus and the default reasoning rule based system paradigms, insuring soft real-time operation with incomplete, incorrect or domain incoherent information handling ability. A prototype implementation of this system is already at work in the control centre of the Portuguese Transmission Network.
- Diabetic Shoe Upper Pressures: Preliminary Approach to Identify Relative Levels of Comfort and InjuryPublication . Martins, Pedro; Marques, A.Diabetic foot is one of the most serious complications affecting the feet of diabetic patients. It is characterized by a progressive loss of protective skin sensitivity and requires an early diagnosis due to the imminent possibility of infection, ulceration, and amputation [1]. Frequently, the anatomical deformation of the foot and the use of misfit shoes compromise the biomechanics of the foot, causing abnormal overload and minor trauma that can precipitate ulceration. The most critical pressure points, located in the plantar and dorsal region of the foot, are already well identified. In this sense, in addition to increased clinical attention, the use of appropriate footwear is also an essential factor in preventing injuries. The shoe must have an internal length between 1 and 2 cm greater than the foot, it must be adapted to the widest part of the foot and the height of the toecap must guarantee sufficient space for the toes. The choice of shoes should be evaluated with the patient standing and preferably at the end of the day when the feet are more likely to be swollen. In more complex cases, the use of custom-made shoes should be advised
- A Federation of VISIR remote laboratories through the PILAR ProjectPublication . Kulesza, W.; Gustavsson, I.; Marques, A.; Fidalgo, André; Alves, Gustavo R.; Hernandez-Jayo, Unai; Garcia-Zubia, J.; Kreiter, C.; Oros, R.G.; Pester, A.; Garbi-Zutin, D.; Auer, M.; Garcia-Hernandez, C.; Tavio, R.; Valtonen, K.; Garcia-Loro, F.; Macho, A.; Sancristobal, E.; Diaz, G.; Castro, M.This paper describes how a new Erasmus Plus project, PILAR, (Platform Integration of Laboratories based on the Architecture of visiR), is being developed and how the startup of the partnership and the project is reinforcing the VISIR (Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality) network and the Special Interest Group of VISIR under the Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC) of the International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE). The Spanish University for Distance Education (UNED) coordinates the project that aims to federate the existing (or new) VISIR systems in order to use the resources more effectively and in a more efficient way, making transparent to the final user the election of the shared resources.
- Intelligent behavior in a Cyber-Ambient training system for control center operatorsPublication . Faria, Luiz; Silva, A.; Ramos, Carlos; Gomes, L.; Vale, Zita; Marques, A.This paper deals with the application of an intelligent tutoring approach to delivery training in diagnosis procedures of a Power System. In particular, the mechanisms implemented by the training tool to support the trainees are detailed. This tool is part of an architecture conceived to integrate Power Systems tools in a Power System Control Centre, based on an Ambient Intelligent paradigm. The present work is integrated in the CITOPSY project which main goal is to achieve a better integration between operators and control room applications, considering the needs of people, customizing requirements and forecasting behaviors.
- Intelligent training in control centres based on an ambient intelligence paradigmPublication . Faria, Luiz; Silva, António S.; Ramos, Carlos; Vale, Zita; Marques, A.This article describes a new approach in the Intelligent Training of Operators in Power Systems Control Centres, considering the new reality of Renewable Sources, Distributed Generation, and Electricity Markets, under the emerging paradigms of Cyber-Physical Systems and Ambient Intelligence. We propose Intelligent Tutoring Systems as the approach to deal with the intelligent training of operators in these new circumstances.
- Portuguese consumer exposure to cosmetic products: risk assessment of ingredients in facial and body moisturizersPublication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Silva, Manuela Vieira Da; Marques, A.The cosmetic industry launches thousands of products annually. Most chemicals are added to the cosmetic product in the form of preservatives and fragrances and some are classified as toxic and prohibited from being used as ingredients because they can cause cancer diseases, mutations, reproductive toxicity, and endocrine disruption.