Scrum solo application in a project with a strong integration component

In Portugal, 90% of software developing companies are micro companies. In 2002, in the Brazilian market, about 60% of the software developing companies would start their activities with just a single developer (Pagotto, Fabrti, Lerario, and Gonçalves, 2016). The Scrum Solo methodology was developed having in mind, that there is a big need for organizing and managing the software development of teams comprised by a single individual. The underlying complexity of big systems and the underlying integration complexity makes the usage of techniques and processes that guarantee the control of the project vital. The methodology described in this document is validated with two application cases in a context of development. The first one is an extensive project, with strong integration component, and the second one the development of an application for process dematerialization. The Scrum Solo methodology performed well in both cases despite their differences. Nevertheless, more cases should be analysed with the emphasis in using different contexts namely other organizations.FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/202

Identification of microservices from monolithic applications through topic modelling

Microservices emerged as one of the most popular architectural patterns in the recent years given the increased need to scale, grow and flexibilize software projects accompanied by the growth in cloud computing and DevOps. Many software applications are being submitted to a process of migration from its monolithic architecture to a more modular, scalable and flexible architecture of microservices. This process is slow and, depending on the project’s complexity, it may take months or even years to complete. This paper proposes a new approach on microservice identification by resorting to topic modelling in order to identify services according to domain terms. This approach in combination with clustering techniques produces a set of services based on the original software. The proposed methodology is implemented as an open-source tool for exploration of monolithic architectures and identification of microservices. A quantitative analysis using the state of the art metrics on independence of functionality and modularity of services was conducted on 200 open-source projects collected from GitHub. Cohesion at message and domain level metrics’ showed medians of roughly 0.6. Interfaces per service exhibited a median of 1.5 with a compact interquartile range. Structural and conceptual modularity revealed medians of 0.2 and 0.4 respectively. Our first results are positive demonstrating beneficial identification of services due to overall metrics’ resultsNational Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project UIDB/50014/202

Eco-eficiência na indústria extractiva : uma estratégia para o desenvolvimento sustentável

Processo de extracção de mármore da pedreira do Rosal; processo de transformação em comprimentos livre

Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia among adults in Dande municipality, Angola

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia in an Angolan population aged 15 to 64 years and to determine relationships with sociodemographic, behavioural and anthropometric characteristics. Methods: A total of 2 354 individuals were assessed for behavioural, sociodemographic and physical characteristics in a cross-sectional, community-based survey. Post-stratification survey weights were applied to obtain prevalence levels. Adjusted odds ratios for each variable related to the conditions were calculated using logistic regression models. Results: Overall, the prevalence of hypertension was 18.0%, diabetes 9.2% and hypercholesterolaemia 4.0%. Among hypertensive individuals, the awareness rate was 48.5%; 15.8% were on treatment and 9.1% had their blood pressure controlled. Only 10.8% were aware they had diabetes, 4.5% were on treatment and 2.7% were controlled. The awareness level for hypercholesterolaemia was 4.2%, with 1.4% individuals on treatment and 1.4% controlled. Conclusions: The prevalence levels of hypertension and diabetes, which were higher than previous findings for the region, together with the observed low rates of awareness, treatment, and control of all conditions studied, constitute an additional challenge to the regional health structures, which must rapidly adapt to the epidemiological shift occurring in this population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Epidemiologic transition in northern Angola: discussion of cumulative results from CISA (Health Research Centre of Angola)

The 41 years of armed conflict (1961 to 2002) resulted in a poor development of the health care and education infrastructures, and forced the relocation of people to safer places, namely major urban cities like Luanda. This phase was characterized by typical demographic, nutritional and epidemiological profiles. With the end of this period Angola has been repeatedly ranked as one of the three fastest growing economies in the world, and along with the social stabilization and globalization, the country is facing the introduction of new medical technologies, improvement of health sys-tems and services, better access to them, and overall better quality of life. These changes could also be translating into socio-cultural, demographic and nutritional changes which in turn may leading to changes in the epidemiological profile of the country. Thus, the emergence of non-communicable diseases are likely to become an increasingly im-portant public health problem in Angola. Also, considering that several infectious diseases persist, our weakened health system will have to face a double burden. Thus, disease surveillance data on non-communicable diseases to determine their prevalence and impact, along with the major behavioural risk factors like consumption of tobacco, alcohol, diets and physical inactivity are urgently needed

Zinc Deficiency Interacts with Intestinal/Urogenital Parasites in the Pathway to Anemia in Preschool Children, Bengo-Angola

This article belongs to the Section Micronutrients and Human Health.In host organisms with normal micronutrient status, nutritional immunity is a strongly regulated response aiming at decreasing the progression and severity of infections. Zinc deficiency may disturb this balance, impairing immune responses to infections, which may indirectly increase infection-related anemia. Since zinc deficiency may associate directly with anemia, the role of infections is often overlooked. Herein, we investigated the participation of infections (or inflammation) in the causal pathway between zinc deficiency and anemia. This transversal study, conducted in 2015 in Bengo-Angola, enrolled 852 under-3-year-old children. Logistic regression models were used to investigate interaction and mediation effects, and significance was confirmed by the Sobel test. In sum, 6.8% of children had zinc deficiency, 45.9% had anemia, and 15.6% had at least one intestinal/urogenital parasite. Furthermore, we found (1) no evidence that inflammation mediates or interacts with zinc deficiency to cause anemia, and (2) zinc deficiency interacts with infections, significantly increasing the odds of anemia (OR: 13.26, p = 0.022). This interaction was stronger among children with iron deficiency anemia (OR: 46.66, p = 0.003). Our results suggest that zinc deficiency may impair the immune response to infections and/or that intestinal parasites could have developed mechanisms to avoid zinc-limited environments. Further studies are needed to corroborate these suggestions.This study had financial support from the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and Camões IP, Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua from Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anemia in preschool children from Angola

Angola is one of the southern African countries with the highest prevalence of anemia, and despite the high geographic heterogeneity of its distribution across the country, it was reported to be indicative of a severe public health problem in some areas, mainly in children. Despite the relevance of this condition in the country, there is still an important gap regarding scientific evidence and knowledge systematization in the indexed literature, that could be used to inform and optimize national public health policies willing to address it. Furthermore, the changes in anemia epidemiology among African preschool children and the late updates in nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive preventive strategies in the continent are of imperative relevance, as they could contribute to design context-specific national approaches to reduce anemia's morbidity and mortality. In this study, we intend to perform a systematic review regarding the sparse evidence available on the country regarding the prevalence of anemia, its associated factors, the prevention, and/or control strategies with the potential to reduce anemia that was implemented, and to discuss interventions targeting infections and/or nutrition conducted in other African countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influência da aptidão física na perceção de bem-estar físico e qualidade de vida em indivíduos com dificuldade intelectual e de desenvolvimento

Physical capacities, health and quality of life (QOL) are improved through physical exercise (PE). Some studies corroborate these effects in individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Difficulty (IDD). In this sense, the objective of the study was to verify the association of physical fitness with the perception of physical well-being and quality of life (QOL) in individuals with IDD. Sixteen individuals with IDD (mean ± standard deviation, age, 34.2 ± 10.61 years; body mass, 72.42 ± 18.23 kg; height, 158.3 ± 9.17 cm) were assessed in body composition by bio impedance method, InBody S10 (Biospace Co, Ltd, Seoul, Korea), in the 30-second chair stand test, Timed Up And Go (TUG), 6-minute walking test (6-min) (Rikli & Jones, 1999), medicine ball throwing (3kg-ball) (Harris et al., 2011) and lower limb strength (LMS) using the HUMAC2015®/NORM™ (Tosca Drive, Stoughton, USA). “Physical Well-Being” and “Total QOL” were assessed using the Personal Outcomes Scale (Claes et al., 2010; Loon et al., 2010; Simões et al., 2016), through self-reported responses (individuals and technicians). Pearson and Spearman correlations were applied for p<0.05. In the female gender, there were associations between the tests for assessing muscle strength in the extension and flexion of LMS (angular velocity of 60º) and the responses of the technicians in the domains of “Physical Well-Being” (respectively, r=0.729 , p=0.026; r=0.802, p=0.009) and “Total QoL” (respectively, r = 0.706, p = 0.033; r = 0.767, p = 0.016). It was found that strength, endurance and aerobic capacity do not seem to be associated with physical well-being and QOL. According to the results, it is necessary to carry out studies with larger and more representative samples of each gender and degree of disability.As capacidades físicas, saúde e qualidade de vida (QV) são melhoradas através do exercício físico (EF). Alguns estudos corroboram esses efeitos em indivíduos com Dificuldade Intelectual e Desenvolvimental (DID). Nesse sentido, o objetivo do estudo foi verificar a associação da aptidão física com a perceção de bem-estar físico e da qualidade de vida (QV) em indivíduos com DID. Avaliaram-se 16 indivíduos com DID (média ± DP, idade, 34,2±10,61 anos; massa corporal, 72,42±18,23 kg; altura, 158,3±9,17 cm) na composição corporal através do método bio impedância, InBody S10 (Biospace Co, Ltd, Seul, Coreia), no teste Levantar/Sentar (L/S), Timed Up And Go (TUG) e no teste de caminhada em 6 minutos (6-min) (Rikli & Jones, 1999), arremesso bola medicinal (3kg-bola) (Harris et al., 2011), força dos membros inferiores (MI) através do dinamómetro isocinético HUMAC2015®/NORM™ (Tosca Drive, Stoughton, USA). O “Bem-Estar Físico” e a “QV Total” foram avaliadas pela Escala Pessoal de Resultados (Claes et al., 2010; Loon et al., 2010; Simões et al., 2016), através de respostas autorrelatadas (indivíduos e técnicos de referência). Foram aplicadas correlações de Pearson e Spearman para p<0,05. No género feminino existiram associações entre: testes de avaliação da força muscular na extensão/flexão do MI (velocidade angular de 60º) e as respostas dos técnicos de referência nos domínios do “Bem-Estar Físico” (respetivamente, r=0,729, p=0,026; r=0,802, p=0,009) e “QV Total” (respetivamente, r=0,706, p=0,033; r=0,767, p=0,016). Verificou-se que a força, resistência e capacidade aeróbia parecem não estar associadas ao bem-estar físico e à QV pelo que se afigura necessário a realização de estudos com amostras maiores e mais representativas de cada género e grau de DID.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Zinc Deficiency Interacts with Intestinal/Urogenital Parasites in the Pathway to Anemia in Preschool Children, Bengo-Angola

This article belongs to the Section Micronutrients and Human Health.In host organisms with normal micronutrient status, nutritional immunity is a strongly regulated response aiming at decreasing the progression and severity of infections. Zinc deficiency may disturb this balance, impairing immune responses to infections, which may indirectly increase infection-related anemia. Since zinc deficiency may associate directly with anemia, the role of infections is often overlooked. Herein, we investigated the participation of infections (or inflammation) in the causal pathway between zinc deficiency and anemia. This transversal study, conducted in 2015 in Bengo-Angola, enrolled 852 under-3-year-old children. Logistic regression models were used to investigate interaction and mediation effects, and significance was confirmed by the Sobel test. In sum, 6.8% of children had zinc deficiency, 45.9% had anemia, and 15.6% had at least one intestinal/urogenital parasite. Furthermore, we found (1) no evidence that inflammation mediates or interacts with zinc deficiency to cause anemia, and (2) zinc deficiency interacts with infections, significantly increasing the odds of anemia (OR: 13.26, p = 0.022). This interaction was stronger among children with iron deficiency anemia (OR: 46.66, p = 0.003). Our results suggest that zinc deficiency may impair the immune response to infections and/or that intestinal parasites could have developed mechanisms to avoid zinc-limited environments. Further studies are needed to corroborate these suggestions.This study had financial support from the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and Camões IP, Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua from Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio