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Publicações

2024

Oral health in analog astronauts on space-simulated missions: an exploratory study

Autores
Gonçalves, ASR; Alves, C; Graça, SR; Pires, A;

Publicação
CLINICAL ORAL INVESTIGATIONS

Abstract
Objectives Space, an extreme environment, poses significant challenges to human physiology, including adverse effects on oral health (e.g., increase of periodontitis prevalence, caries, tooth sensitivity). This study investigates the differences in oral health routines and oral manifestations among analog astronauts during their daily routines and simulated space missions conducted on Earth. Materials and methods This research focused on scientist-astronaut candidates of the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) and analog astronauts from other institutions. The study used a cross-sectional methodology with a descriptive component. A total of 16 participants, comprising individuals aged between 21 and 55 years, were invited to complete an online questionnaire. A comparison was made between the subjects' oral hygiene practices in everyday life (designated as Earth in this research) and their oral hygiene routines during their space analog missions. Results (i) Toothbrushing duration was mostly 1-3 minutes (n = 13; 81.30% on Earth; n = 11; 68.80% on a mission); (ii) time spent was the greatest difficulty in maintaining oral hygiene routine on a mission (n = 9; 53,6%); (iii) There were more experienced oral symptoms on Earth (n = 12; 75%) than on mission (n = 7; 43.80%); (iv) The most frequent frequency of oral check-ups was > 12 months (n = 6; 37,5%); (v) Oral health materials were scarce on the mission (n = 9; 56.30%); (vi) For the majority, personal oral hygiene was classified as good (n = 9; 56.30% on Earth; n = 7; 43.80% on the mission). Conclusion and Clinical relevance This research contributes to increasing knowledge of oral hygiene measures in extreme environments, but further research is needed as this topic remains relatively understudied. This study represents an initial contribution to oral health in analog space missions, aiming to propose guidelines for future missions, including deep space missions and expeditions to extreme environments.

2024

The GRAVITY young stellar object survey XIII. Tracing the time-variable asymmetric disk structure in the inner AU of the Herbig star HD 98922

Autores
Ganci, V; Labadie, L; Perraut, K; Wojtczak, A; Kaufhold, J; Benisty, M; Alecian, E; Bourdarot, G; Brandner, W; Garatti, A; Dougados, C; Lopez, RG; Sanchez-Bermudez, J; Soulain, A; Amorim, A; Berger, JP; Caselli, P; Clénet, Y; Drescher, A; Eckart, A; Eisenhauer, F; Fabricius, M; Feuchtgruber, H; Garcia, P; Gendron, E; Genzel, R; Gillessen, S; Grant, S; Heissel, G; Henning, T; Horrobin, M; Jocou, L; Kervella, P; Lacour, S; Lapeyrère, V; Le Bouquin, JB; Léna, P; Lutz, D; Mang, F; Morujao, N; Ott, T; Paumard, T; Perrin, G; Ribeiro, D; Bordoni, MS; Scheithauer, S; Shangguan, J; Shimizu, T; Straubmeier, C; Sturm, E; Tacconi, L; van Dishoeck, E; Vincent, F; Woillez, J;

Publicação
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Abstract
Context. Temporal variability in the photometric and spectroscopic properties of protoplanetary disks is common in young stellar objects. However, evidence pointing toward changes in their morphology over short timescales has only been found for a few sources, mainly due to a lack of high-cadence observations at high angular resolution. Understanding this type of variation could be important for our understanding of phenomena related to disk evolution. Aims. We study the morphological variability of the innermost circumstellar environment of HD 98922, focusing on its dust and gas content. Methods. Multi-epoch observations of HD 98922 at milliarcsecond resolution with VLTI/GRAVITY in the K-band at low (R = 20) and high (R = 4000) spectral resolution are combined with VLTI/PIONIER archival data covering a total time span of 11 yr. We interpret the interferometric visibilities and spectral energy distribution with geometrical models and through radiative transfer techniques using the code MCMax. We investigated high-spectral-resolution quantities (visibilities and differential phases) to obtain information on the properties of the HI Brackett-gamma (Br gamma)-line-emitting region. Results. Comparing observations taken with similar (u,v) plane coverage, we find that the squared visibilities do not vary significantly, whereas we find strong variability in the closure phases, suggesting temporal variations in the asymmetric brightness distribution associated to the disk. Our observations are best fitted by a model of a crescent-like asymmetric dust feature located at similar to 1 au and accounting for similar to 70 % of the near-infrared (NIR) emission. The feature has an almost constant magnitude and orbits the central star with a possible sub-Keplerian period of similar to 12 months, although a 9 month period is another, albeit less probable, solution. The radiative transfer models show that the emission originates from a small amount of carbon-rich (25%) silicates, or quantum-heated particles located in a low-density region. Among different possible scenarios, we favor hydrodynamical instabilities in the inner disk that can create a large vortex. The high spectral resolution differential phases in the Br gamma line show that the hot-gas compact component is offset from the star and in some cases is located between the star and the crescent feature. The scale of the emission does not favor magnetospheric accretion as a driving mechanism. The scenario of an asymmetric disk wind or a massive accreting substellar or planetary companion is discussed. Conclusions. With this unique observational data set for HD 98922, we reveal morphological variability in the innermost 2 au of its disk region. This property is possibly common to many other protoplanetary disks, but is not commonly observed due to a lack of high-cadence observation. It is therefore important to pursue this approach with other sources for which an extended dataset with PIONIER, GRAVITY, and possibly MATISSE is available.

2024

Objective metrics for ethical AI: a systematic literature review

Autores
Palumbo, G; Carneiro, D; Alves, V;

Publicação
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DATA SCIENCE AND ANALYTICS

Abstract
The field of AI Ethics has recently gained considerable attention, yet much of the existing academic research lacks practical and objective contributions for the development of ethical AI systems. This systematic literature review aims to identify and map objective metrics documented in literature between January 2018 and June 2023, specifically focusing on the ethical principles outlined in the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI. The review was based on 66 articles retrieved from the Scopus and World of Science databases. The articles were categorized based on their alignment with seven ethical principles: Human Agency and Oversight, Technical Robustness and Safety, Privacy and Data Governance, Transparency, Diversity, Non-Discrimination and Fairness, Societal and Environmental Well-being, and Accountability. Of the identified articles, only a minority presented objective metrics to assess AI ethics, with the majority being purely theoretical works. Moreover, existing metrics are primarily concentrating on Diversity, Non-Discrimination and Fairness, with a clear under-representation of the remaining principles. This lack of practical contributions makes it difficult for Data Scientists to devise systems that can be deemed Ethical, or to monitor the alignment of existing systems with current guidelines and legislation. With this work, we lay out the current panorama concerning objective metrics to quantify AI Ethics in Data Science and highlight the areas in which future developments are needed to align Data Science projects with the human values widely posited in the literature.

2024

Linear Fiber Laser Configurations for Optical Concentration Sensing in Liquid Solutions

Autores
Soares, L; Perez-Herrera, RA; Novais, S; Ferreira, A; Silva, S; Frazao, O;

Publicação
PHOTONICS

Abstract
In this study, different configurations based on linear fiber lasers were proposed and experimentally demonstrated to measure the concentration of liquid solutions. Samples of paracetamol liquid solutions with different concentrations, in the range from 52.61 to 201.33 g/kg, were used as a case-study. The optical gain was provided by a commercial bidirectional Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) and the linear cavity was obtained using two commercial Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs). The main difference of each configuration was the coupling ratio of the optical coupler used to extract the system signal. The sensing head corresponded to a Single-Mode Fiber (SMF) tip that worked as an intensity sensor. The results reveal that, despite the optical coupler used (50:50, 60:40, 70:30 or 80:20), all the configurations reached the laser condition, however, the concentration sensing was only possible using a laser drive current near to the threshold value. The configurations using a 70:30 and an 80:20 optical coupler allowed paracetamol concentration measurements with a higher sensitivity of (-3.00 +/- 0.24) pW/(g/kg) to be performed. In terms of resolution, the highest value obtained was 1.75 g/kg, when it was extracted at 20% of the output power to the linear cavity fiber laser configuration.

2024

Report from the 14th International Workshop on Automating Test Case Design, Selection, and Evaluation (A-TEST 2023)

Autores
Faria, JP; Verbeek, F; Fasolino, AR;

Publicação
ACM SIGSOFT Softw. Eng. Notes

Abstract

2024

Software and Architecture Orchestration for Process Control in Industry 4.0 Enabled by Cyber-Physical Systems Technologies

Autores
Serôdio, C; Mestre, P; Cabral, J; Gomes, M; Branco, F;

Publicação
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL

Abstract
In the context of Industry 4.0, this paper explores the vital role of advanced technologies, including Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), digital twins, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in enhancing data valorization and management within industries. These technologies are integral to addressing the challenges of producing highly customized products in mass, necessitating the complete digitization and integration of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) for flexible and automated manufacturing processes. The paper emphasizes the importance of interoperability through Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA), Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS), and Resource-as-a-Service (RaaS) to achieve seamless integration across systems, which is critical for the Industry 4.0 vision of a fully interconnected, autonomous industry. Furthermore, it discusses the evolution towards Supply Chain 4.0, highlighting the need for Transportation Management Systems (TMS) enhanced by GPS and real-time data for efficient logistics. A guideline for implementing CPS within Industry 4.0 environments is provided, focusing on a case study of real-time data acquisition from logistics vehicles using CPS devices. The study proposes a CPS architecture and a generic platform for asset tracking to address integration challenges efficiently and facilitate the easy incorporation of new components and applications. Preliminary tests indicate the platform's real-time performance is satisfactory, with negligible delay under test conditions, showcasing its potential for logistics applications and beyond.

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