Within a Collaborative Business Ecosystem context, as the network evolves, the competition between members increases and, as a consequence, members face the challenge to improve the chances their services have to be selected. On the other hand, the distance between Business Services and “Computational Services” is still a bottleneck for the automation of service provision. This paper extends the Pro-Active Service Entity Framework, proposing a mechanism to improve the service selection chances, based on the refinement of a Quality of Service concept for this context, and introduces a new class of actors for the framework – the intermediaries, needed to shorten the distance between Business and Computational perspectives.

Supply chains ({SC)} in an attempt to be more competitive, are adopting new management paradigm. Among these paradigms there are four that deserve particular mention because of their importance to better {SC} performance: lean, agile, resilient and green. The main objective of this paper is to propose a conceptual model for a lean, agile, resilience and green {SC}, with the purpose of improving their operational, economic and environmental performance. In this attempt a set of {SC} management practices, which were named {LARG} practices, and several performance measures are suggested. This model is based in the literature review about the four {SC} management paradigms and also {SC} performance measurement. Among the suggested {LARG} practices the ones influencing more the {SC} performance are the just in time and also the supplier relationships. Also the {SC} performance measures with more {LARG} practices influencing them are the inventory levels and the time, that is, the {SC's} operational performance is the most affected.

Purpose –This paper aims to propose a resilience index to assess the company ability to avoid and minimize the negative effects of supply chain disturbances.
Design/methodology/approach – An inductive research approach was used to develop a resilience assessment model. In a first stage, to collect empirical data, an exploratory case study was performed in seven companies’ belong to different positions in the Portuguese automotive supply chain. Next, a resilience index was derived from the case study main findings. In a final stage, the index was then tested using a case study approach in the automotive supply chain.
Findings – It was found that managers do not associate supply chain disturbances to a particular type of events, but with the negative effects that events provoke. The results also suggest that the resilience strategies they used are dependent on the type of supply chain disturbances negative effects. These empirical findings were used to develop a supply chain resilience assessment model and two resilience indexes: resilience index of “on time delivery” to “capacity shortage” and resilience index of “on time delivery” to “materials shortage”.
Research limitations/implications – This paper has the limitations common to all case studies, such as the subjectivity of the analysis and results generalization. Since only the automotive sector was studied, the findings are not universally applicable across different industry sectors in various countries.
Originality/value – The study contributes to the existing literature by empirically investigating the main effects of supply chain disturbances and how companies can increase supply chain resilience. It also suggests a way to evaluate companies’ resilience after a disturbance occurrence and identifies a set of supply chain state variables to improve supply chain resilience.

In this paper an optimization-based approach for the design of RF integrated inductors is addressed. For the characterisation of the inductor behaviour the double pi-model is used. The use of this model is twofold. On one hand it enables the generation of the inductor characterisation in a few seconds. On the other hand its integration into the optimization procedure is straightforward. For the evaluation of the model element values analytical expressions based on technology parameters as well as on the device geometric characteristics are used. The use of a technology-based methodology for the evaluation of the model parameters grants the adaptability of the model to any technology. The inductor analytical characterization is integrated into an optimization-based tool for the automatic design of RF integrated inductors. This tool uses a modified genetic algorithm (MGA) optimization procedure, which has proved its validation in previous work. Due to the design parameter constraints nature as well as the topology constraints, discrete variables optimization techniques are used. The accuracy of the results is checked against a non-commercial software.

In this paper an optimization-based approach for the design of RF integrated inductors is addressed. For the characterisation of the inductor behaviour the double π-model is used. The use of this model is twofold. On one hand it enables the generation of the inductor characterisation in a few seconds. On the other hand its integration into the optimization procedure is straightforward. For the evaluation of the model element values analytical expressions based on technology parameters as well as on the device geometric characteristics are used. The use of a technology-based methodology for the evaluation of the model parameters grants the adaptability of the model to any technology. The inductor analytical characterization is integrated into an optimization-based tool for the automatic design of RF integrated inductors. This tool uses a modified genetic algorithm (MGA) optimization procedure, which has proved its validation in previous work. Due to the design parameter constraints nature as well as the topology constraints, discrete variables optimization techniques are used. The accuracy of the results is checked against a non-commercial software.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a new technology that has received considerable attention from academics and practitioners due to its large scope of application, advantages and potentialities. This chapter aims to highlight the potentialities associated with RFID in fast moving Fashion Supply Chain Management (FSCM). The research emphasizes the technological contribution to the Fashion Supply Chain (FSC) such as speed up logistics activities, increased quality, reduced prices, and more responsive improvements for customer satisfaction. The chapter reviews the RFID technology, presents the benefits, disadvantages, and barriers associated with it. To explore the deployment of the RFID technology in the Fashion Supply Chain (FSC), a case study investigation of companies in different FSCM nodes was carried out. A cross-case analysis it is also presented to achieve a deeper understanding about this technology in a fast moving FSCM context

{Summary: For heavy-tailed models, and working with the sample of the $k$ largest observations, we present probability weighted moments (PWM) estimators for the first order tail parameters. Under regular variation conditions on the right-tail of the underlying distribution function $F$ we prove the consistency and asymptotic normality of these estimators. Their performance, for finite sample sizes, is illustrated through a small-scale Monte Carlo simulation.}

n/a

This paper is a review over a variety of events which lead to disruption conditions in supply chains and identifies correspondent resilient strategies for each condition. The paper objective is to make a link between the problems created by events and strategies that managers can use to avoid or mitigate the negative aspects of those problems and improve post- event recovery. To attain the paper objectives it was use archived media news to collect empirical data about disturbances (events), their negative effects (problems), and resilience strategies. In the data collection phase, the aim was to keep diversities and be comprehensive. Using empirical evidences from the sample is developed a graph to show the links between supply chain disturbances, problems and resilience. This research provides supply chain managers with some alternative strategies to opt for the best available decision, improving the post-event management process.

This paper aims to propose a supply chain resilience assessment framework. An inductive research approach was used being performed an exploratory case study in the Portuguese automotive supply chain. The study investigates the main effects of supply chain disturbance and how companies can increase supply chain resilience. Empirical findings were used to develop a resilience assessment model with two perspectives, an “ex post” analysis, where it measures the performance loss after a disturbance occurrence, and in an “ex ante” analysis, measuring the characteristics that confer resilience properties to the supply chain.

This paper aims to analyze the supply chain behavior when subject to disturbances using a simulation-based approach. The disturbance explored in this study is the transportation interruption between two suppliers in the automotive supply chain. The performance of the different supply chain entities is used to analyze supply chain design scenarios. The analysis of the outputs simulation study shows that even when a redundancy strategy is used, the negative effects of a disturbance are spread along the supply chain, but the resilience of supply chain entities is enhanced

The high prices currently achieved in the acquisition of non-renewable energy for electricity production and the low levels of energy efficiency in the housing sector are the national situation, which leads the Portuguese government to encourage the acquisition, the installation and the use of technologies which exploit indigenous and renewable energy. This study presents an application that was developed in order to help the citizen in his decision to invest in renewable technologies in their homes. The application is able to elaborate an economic analysis based on the selected type of renewable technology, providing the user with the knowledge of benefits and the annual costs involved in the system that he selected. This tool aims at facilitating the interaction of any user with such technologies and it can be used as a helpful tool to support the decision of investment in such systems.

Portugal is ranked within the ten countries with more dinosaur taxa and the Lourinhã Formation is known
by the Late Jurassic findings of dinosaurs and other fossils. Often, studies of the external morphological
characteristics of the fossils are not sufficient and, observations of internal structures, using non-
destructive techniques, are required. The fossils here presented belong to the Museum da Lourinhã
(Portugal) and comprise a lower jaw of a basal crocodilian (possibly a Tomistomidae), eggshells and
several vertebrae from the exceptionally well preserved in ovo remains of Late Jurassic theropod dinosaur
Lourinhanosaurus. Neutron Tomography (NT) experiments with this material has been carried out at the
Geesthacht Neutron Facility in Germany. Additionally, eggshell fragments and several vertebrae have
been studied by Synchrotron-Radiation based Micro-Computed Tomography (SRμCT) at the HARWI II and
BW2 beamlines, respectively. These beamlines are operated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht at the
storage ring DORIS III at the Deutsches Elektronen–Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg, Germany. In both cases
(NT and SRμCT) complete 3D recordings have been obtained using a non-destructive procedure. The high-
quality tomographic datasets can be effectively studied through interactive digital visualization. Hence,
these visualization methods provide precious information about the 3D internal micro morphology of
fossils, like the network of the eggshell pores, often invisible in more traditional techniques, and provide a
direct window into the evolutionary history of organisms.

Spreadsheets are notoriously error-prone. To help avoid the introduction of errors when changing spreadsheets, models that capture the structure and interdependencies of spreadsheets at a conceptual level have been proposed. Thus, spreadsheet evolution can be made safe within the confines of a model. As in any other model/instance setting, evolution may not only require changes at the instance level but also at the model level. When model changes are required, the safety of instance evolution can not be guarded by the model alone. We have designed an appropriate representation of spreadsheet models, including the fundamental notions of formulæand references. For these models and their instances, we have designed coupled transformation rules that cover specific spreadsheet evolution steps, such as the insertion of columns in all occurrences of a repeated block of cells. Each model-level transformation rule is coupled with instance level migration rules from the source to the target model and vice versa. These coupled rules can be composed to create compound transformations at the model level inducing compound transformations at the instance level. This approach guarantees safe evolution of spreadsheets even when models change.

n/a

This work describes the development of a system designed for renewable power generation integration. It continuously acquires wind, solar and temperature data, which is automatically correlated with energy parameters, obtained from renewable energy systems. The developed system was installed in an urban building equipped with photovoltaic cells and wind renewable generation. To validate the developed application, it was analyzed data of a wind generator and a set of photovoltaic panels, installed near to the weather station. The developed application allows, in addition to the acquisition of weather and energy data, their continuous monitoring and correlation through a graphical user interface, providing a friendly interactivity with the user.

Superoxide reductases are enzymes involved in bacterial resistance to reactive oxygen species, catalyzing the reduction of superoxide anions to hydrogen peroxide. So far three structural classes have been identified. Class I enzymes have two iron-center containing domains. Most studies have been focused on the catalytic iron site (center II), but the role of center I is yet poorly understood. The possible roles of this iron site were approached by an integrated study using both classical and fast kinetics measurements as well as direct electrochemistry. A new heterometallic form of the protein with a zinc-substituted center I, maintaining the iron active site center II was obtained, resulting in a stable derivative useful for comparison with the native all-iron from. Second order rate constants for the electron transfer between reduced rubredoxin and the different SOR forms were determined to be 2.8x107 (M-1s-1) and 1.3x106 (M-1s-1) for SORFe(IIII)-Fe(II) and for SORFe(IIII)-Fe(III) forms respectively, and 3.2x106 (M-1s-1) for the SORZn(II)-Fe(III) form. The results obtained seem to indicate that center I transfers electrons from the putative physiologic donor, rubredoxin, to the catalytic active iron site (intramolecular process). In addition, electrochemical results show that conformational changes are associated to the redox state of center I, which may enable a faster catalytic response towards superoxide anion. The apparent rate constants calculated for the SOR-mediated electron transfer also support this observation.

n/a