Tecnologia da informação no canteiro de obras

The Civil Construction industry faces difficulties compared to other sectors when it comes to technology. Within the life cycle of a building, the construction site has even more difficulty adapting due to unskilled labor, for the most part, among other factors. However, in an increasingly demanding and competitive market such as Civil Construction, companies seek innovation as a way to stand out and the arrival of the 4th Industrial Revolution, with new digital technologies, networks, hardware and more sophisticated software, provided a great diversification of innovations being created and studied, thus likely to be implemented at the construction site. The objective of this work is to study Information Technologies implemented in the residential construction site, which collaborate for a better management, quality, control, efficiency, planning and management of the work, among others. Among these IT's, three were chosen to be presented in more detail, BIM 4D and 5D, robotics and smart labels, focused on RFID and QR Code, discussing their usability, their usefulness within civil construction with a focus on the construction site and their contributions and improvements within the construction site, along with the challenges of its implementation. The research is characterized as a bibliographic review, with qualitative analyzes using other researches, norms, articles, books, theses, monographs and dissertations as a consultation. At the end of the research it was possible to conclude that the technologies studied have their advantages, but they also face challenges, however this does not prevent their implementation in the construction sites, having an example of where they are being used, including in Brazil.A indústria da Construção Civil enfrenta dificuldades comparada a outros setores, quando o assunto é tecnologia. Dentro do ciclo de vida de uma edificação, o canteiro de obras possui ainda mais dificuldade de adaptação devido a mão de obra não especializada, em sua maioria, entre outros fatores. Entretanto, em um mercado cada vez mais exigente e competitivo como o da Construção Civil, as empresas buscam a inovação como forma de se destacarem e a chegada da 4º Revolução Industrial, com novas tecnologias digitais, redes, hardware e softwares mais sofisticados, proporcionou uma grande diversificação de inovações sendo criadas e estudadas, passíveis assim de serem implementadas no canteiro. O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar Tecnologias da Informação implementadas no canteiro de obras residencial, que colaboram para uma melhor gestão, qualidade, controle, eficiência, planejamento e gerenciamento da obra, entre outros. Dentre essas TI’s foram escolhidas três para serem apresentadas de forma mais detalhadas, o BIM 4D e 5D, a robótica e as etiquetas inteligente, focadas no RFID e QR Code, discutindo sua usabilidade, sua utilidade dentro da construção civil com foco no canteiro e suas contribuições e melhorias dentro do canteiro, juntamente com os desafios de sua implementação. A pesquisa se caracteriza como uma revisão bibliográfica, com análises qualitativas utilizando como consulta outras pesquisas, normas, artigos, livros, teses, monografias e dissertações. Ao final da pesquisa foi possível concluir que as tecnologias estudadas possuem suas vantagens, mas também passam por desafios, entretanto isso não impede a implementação delas nos canteiros, tendo exemplo de onde estão sendo utilizadas, inclusive no Brasil

Implementation of value-based pricing for medicines

Value-based pricing (VBP) is well established in markets for common goods and services, but wide consensus on VBP for pharmaceuticals is lacking. In principle, VBP implies that prices are mainly driven by a drug's value (value for money) and that the impact on budget (sustainability) is a second-order driver of price regulation. Although the literature provides descriptive analyses on regulations governing medicine price negotiation, there are few insights on whether and how price negotiation regulations have been implemented. The goal of this article was to cover this information gap for 5 European countries and the United States. VBP has been applied according to two models: (1) direct models in which cost-effectiveness is a driver; and (2) indirect, multi-attribute models characterized by greater discretion on the integration between the different value domains and the evaluation of consistency between costs and value. In these models, cost-effectiveness is not a driver. In addition, it is hard to evaluate within these models the actual implementation of VBP. Identifying whether and how VBP is applied requires a clear predefined link between added value and the premium price, as well as transparency in the way added value is converted into a premium price. In general, for these countries, it remains difficult to determine whether pricing is mostly driven by value (value-for-money) or impact on budget (sustainability). In instances in which thresholds on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio are used, it becomes easier to understand whether VBP has been implemented. If VBP relies on a multi criteria approach, greater transparency on which criteria have been used to assess a new drug and how they have been converted into a reasonable price may help in understanding whether a value-based approach has been used. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Driver's visual attention to different categories of roadside advertising signs

Roadside advertising signs are a salient potential source of driver's distraction. Previous research has mainly investigated driver's visual attention to billboards, which represents only one category of advertising signs. In this study, driver's visual attention was assessed in a naturalistic driving setting for six categories of roadside advertising signs: vendor signs, billboards, movable display boards, single and multiple commercial directional signs, and gas price LED displays. Fixation rate, fixation duration, fixation distance and driving speed were assessed in a sample of 15 drivers along a 30-km route including a total of 154 advertising signs belonging to the six categories described above. The role of clearance from the road, elevation, height, width, surface, number and size of characters, total number of characters, side of the road (driving side, opposite side), context (rural, urban), were also considered. Overall 24% of the roadside advertising signs were fixated. Fixation rate was significantly influenced by sign category, clearance from the road and number of characters. Median value for fixation duration was 297 ms. Fixation duration was significantly influenced by speed, elevation from road level, number of medium size characters, and was higher in the rural context. Median value for fixation distance was 58.10 m, and was significantly influenced by advertising sign category, character count and speed

Near-Real-Time Strong Motion Acquisition at National Scale and Automatic Analysis

A strong motion monitoring network records data that provide an excellent way to study how source, path, and site effects influence the ground motion, specifically in the near-source area. Such data are essential for updating seismic hazard maps and consequently building codes and earthquake-resistant design. This paper aims to present the Italian Strong Motion Network (RAN), describing its current status, employment, and further developments. It has 648 stations and is the result of a fruitful co-operation between the Italian government, regions, and local authorities. In fact, the network can be divided into three sub-networks: the Friuli Venezia Giulia Accelerometric Network, the Irpinia Seismic Network, and all the other stations. The Antelope software automatically collects, processes, and archives data in the data acquisition centre in Rome (Italy). The efficiency of the network on a daily basis is today more than 97%. The automatic and fast procedures that run in Antelope for the real-time strong motion data analysis are continuously improved at the University of Trieste: a large set of strong motion parameters and correspondent Ground Motion Prediction Equations allow ground shaking intensity maps to be provided for moderate to strong earthquakes occurring within the Italian territory. These maps and strong motion parameters are included in automatic reports generated for civil protection purposes

Rheumatologist's Perspective on Non-Infectious Uveitis: Patterns from Tertiary Referral Rheumatologic Clinics in Italy

Non-infectious uveitis (NIU) can be an early or even the first extra-articular manifestation of systemic rheumatic diseases, or the first one; thus, rheumatologists are often involved in the diagnostic and therapeutic assessment of NIU. We evaluated 130 patients with a diagnosis of NIU who were admitted to two Italian rheumatologic clinics (Tor Vergata University Hospital in Rome, and Federico II University in Naples) from January 2018 to December 2021. Anterior uveitis (AU) occurred in 75.4% of patients, followed by posterior uveitis (PU, 21.5%); acute (54.6%) and recurrent (35.4%) NIU were more documented than chronic NIU (10%), and a bilateral involvement was observed in 38.7% of cases. Half of NIU cases were associated with spondyloarthritis (SpA); the remaining were affected by Behcet disease (BD)-related uveitis (13.9%) and idiopathic NIU (9.2%). HLA-B27(+) patients (34.8%) had a higher prevalence of anterior and unilateral NIU (p = 0.005) with acute course (p = 0.04) than HLA-B27(-) patients. On the contrary, HLA-B51(+) patients (19.6%) had mostly PU and bilateral NIU (p < 0.0001) and recurrent course (p = 0.04) than HLA-B51(-) patients. At the first rheumatologic referral, 117 patients (90%) received systemic treatments. Findings from this study demonstrate that rheumatologic referral has a pivotal role in the diagnostic work-up of NIU and may dramatically influence NIU-treatment strategies

Bioactive compounds: a goldmine for defining new strategies against pathogenic bacterial biofilms?

Most human infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms growing as biofilms. These three-dimensional self-organized communities are embedded in a dense matrix allowing microorganisms to persistently inhabit abiotic and biotic surfaces due to increased resistance to both antibiotics and effectors of the immune system. Consequently, there is an urgent need for novel strategies to control biofilm-associated infections. Natural products offer a vast array of chemical structures and possess a wide variety of biological properties; therefore, they have been and continue to be exploited in the search for potential biofilm inhibitors with a specific or multi-locus mechanism of action. This review provides an updated discussion of the major bioactive compounds isolated from several natural sources - such as plants, lichens, algae, microorganisms, animals, and humans - with the potential to inhibit biofilm formation and/or to disperse established biofilms by bacterial pathogens. Despite the very large number of bioactive products, their exact mechanism of action often remains to be clarified and, in some cases, the identity of the active molecule is still unknown. This knowledge gap should be filled thus allowing development of these products not only as novel drugs to combat bacterial biofilms, but also as antibiotic adjuvants to restore the therapeutic efficacy of current antibiotics

J-PLUS: A wide-field multi-band study of the M15 globular cluster. Evidence of multiple stellar populations in the RGB

The Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) provides wide field-of-view images in 12 narrow, intermediate and broad-band filters optimized for stellar photometry. Here we have applied J-PLUS data for the first time for the study of Galactic GCs using science verification data obtained for the very metal-poor GC M\,15. Our J-PLUS data provide low-resolution spectral energy distributions covering the near-UV to the near-IR, allowing us to search for MPs based on pseudo-spectral fitting diagnostics. J-PLUS CMDs are found to be particularly useful to search for splits in the sequences formed by the upper red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We interpret these split sequences as evidence for the presence of MPs. This demonstrates that the J-PLUS survey will have sufficient spatial coverage and spectral resolution to perform a large statistical study of GCs through multi-band photometry in the coming years.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication @ A&

El papel de la milpa en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional en hogares de Ocotal Texizapan, Veracruz

In Mexico, the productive activities of indigenous communities revolve around the milpa. Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security (SSAN) in these communities are under threat due to factors that put food, biological and cultural diversity at risk. The objective was to analyze the milpa as a traditional agroecosystem in the Nahuatl community of Ocotal Texizapan, Veracruz and factors that affect the dimensions of the SSAN. Semi-structured and in-depth interview (n = 20 families) and participatory observation were conducted. Local knowledge regarding agrobiodiversity in the milpa was recorded. It was found that the milpa (associated maize, beans, squash and edible herbaceous) is established in two cycles (temporal and tapachole or "tapáchôlsinti"). 31 species of plants grown associated, intercropping or tolerated are collected within or around the milpa. A total of 19 species (61%) were edible. Food diversity is supported by plants collected in the milpa and also by hunting and collecting edible fungi, insects and herbs. The milpa, based on a deep traditional knowledge of the environment, climate and availability of natural resources is key in the availability of plant and animal for food throughout the year. It can be concluded that achieving the milpa represents food security and the flora and fauna associated with it, contribute to the nutritional security among Ocotal families and whose agricultural management is impregnated by a strong historical-cultural-religious content.En México, las actividades productivas de las comunidades indígenas campesinas giran alrededor de la milpa. La Soberanía y Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (SSAN) de dichas comunidades está sujeta a amenazas debido a factores que ponen en riesgo la diversidad, alimentaria, biológica y cultural. El objetivo fue analizar el agroecosistema de la milpa en la comunidad náhuatl de Ocotal Texizapan, Veracruz y factores asociados que inciden en las dimensiones de la SSAN. Se utilizó observación participativa, entrevista semi-estructurada y a profundidad (n= 20 familias). Se registraron los conocimientos locales respecto a la agrobiodiversidad de la milpa. Se encontró que la milpa (asociación maíz, frijol y herbáceas comestibles) se establece en dos ciclos: temporal (mayo–julio) y de “tapachole” o “tapáchôlsinti” (octubre–noviembre). Es un sistema tradicional clave en la disponibilidad de alimentos vegetales y animales durante todo el año. Se colectaron 31 especies de plantas cultivadas de manera asociada, intercalada o toleradas dentro o en el contorno de la milpa. Del total, 19 especies (61 %) son comestibles, La diversidad de plantas comestibles recolectadas en la milpa es apoyada por la caza, y recolecta de hongos e insectos comestibles. La milpa está basada en un conocimiento tradicional profundo del ambiente, el clima y disponibilidad de los recursos. Se concluye que la milpa tiene un papel importante en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional de las familias de Ocotal y que esta está basada en mano de obra familiar e impregnada de un fuerte contenido histórico-cultural-religiosoEn México, las actividades productivas de las comunidades indígenas campesinas giran alrededor de la milpa. La Soberanía y Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (SSAN) de dichas comunidades está sujeta a amenazas debido a factores que ponen en riesgo la diversidad, alimentaria, biológica y cultural. El objetivo fue analizar el agroecosistema de la milpa en la comunidad náhuatl de Ocotal Texizapan, Veracruz y factores asociados que inciden en las dimensiones de la SSAN. Se utilizó observación participativa, entrevista semi-estructurada y a profundidad (n= 20 familias). Se registraron los conocimientos locales respecto a la agrobiodiversidad de la milpa. Se encontró que la milpa (asociación maíz, frijol y herbáceas comestibles) se establece en dos ciclos: temporal (mayo–julio) y de “tapachole” o “tapáchôlsinti” (octubre–noviembre). Es un sistema tradicional clave en la disponibilidad de alimentos vegetales y animales durante todo el año. Se colectaron 31 especies de plantas cultivadas de manera asociada, intercalada o toleradas dentro o en el contorno de la milpa. Del total, 19 especies (61 %) son comestibles, La diversidad de plantas comestibles recolectadas en la milpa es apoyada por la caza, y recolecta de hongos e insectos comestibles. La milpa está basada en un conocimiento tradicional profundo del ambiente, el clima y disponibilidad de los recursos. Se concluye que la milpa tiene un papel importante en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional de las familias de Ocotal y que esta está basada en mano de obra familiar e impregnada de un fuerte contenido histórico-cultural-religios

The inhibition of 45A ncRNA expression reduces tumor formation, affecting tumor nodules compactness and metastatic potential in neuroblastoma cells

open16noWe recently reported the in vitro over-expression of 45A, a RNA polymerase IIItranscribed non-coding (nc)RNA, that perturbs the intracellular content of FE65L1 affecting cell proliferation rate, short-term response to genotoxic stress, substrate adhesion capacity and, ultimately, increasing the tumorigenic potential of human neuroblastoma cells. In this work, to deeply explore the mechanism by which 45A ncRNA contributes to cancer development, we targeted in vitro and in vivo 45A levels by the stable overexpression of antisense 45A RNA. 45A downregulation leads to deep modifications of cytoskeleton organization, adhesion and migration of neuroblastoma cells. These effects are correlated with alterations in the expression of several genes including GTSE1 (G2 and S phaseexpressed- 1), a crucial regulator of tumor cell migration and metastatic potential. Interestingly, the downregulation of 45A ncRNA strongly affects the in vivo tumorigenic potential of SKNBE2 neuroblastoma cells, increasing tumor nodule compactness and reducing GTSE1 protein expression in a subcutaneous neuroblastoma mouse model. Moreover, intracardiac injection of neuroblastoma cells showed that downregulation of 45A ncRNA also influences tumor metastatic ability. In conclusion, our data highlight a key role of 45A ncRNA in cancer development and suggest that its modulation might represent a possible novel anticancer therapeutic approach.openPenna, Ilaria; Gigoni, Arianna; Costa, Delfina; Vella, Serena; Russo, Debora; Poggi, Alessandro; Villa, Federico; Brizzolara, Antonella; Canale, Claudio; Mescola, Andrea; Daga, Antonio; Russo, Claudio; Nizzari, Mario; Florio, Tullio; Menichini, Paola; Pagano, AldoPenna, Ilaria; Gigoni, Arianna; Costa, Delfina; Vella, SERENA LUISA; Russo, Debora; Poggi, Alessandro; Villa, Federico; Brizzolara, Antonella; Canale, Claudio; Mescola, Andrea; Daga, Antonio; Russo, Claudio; Nizzari, Mario; Florio, Tullio; Menichini, Paola; Pagano, Ald

Graphical representation of the smart living building research program

The smart living lab project is a pioneering, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional platform that combines several fields of research related to construction technologies. It aims to be a center of national scope, recognized on an international level and involving a variety of players and institutions. One of the smart living lab’s projects is the design and construction of its own building, which will be at the cutting edge of research and best practice on sustainability. Before starting the construction of the smart living building, a preliminary research called smart living building (SLB) research program has been set up, of which this poster gives a graphical representation, meant to find a common language between the diverse disciplines involved in the subject