Use of Psycho-Social Aspects of Deafness Course as a Counseling Tool for Deaf Students

A Psycho-Social Aspects of Deafness course is frequently offered to hearing students in programs focusing on education, counseling, or social work with the deaf. At the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, it is offered to deaf students at the undergraduate level. The goals of the course are to enhance understanding of the impact of deafness on educational, psychological, emotional, and social development. The focus of this course is directed both to the cognitive domain, and the affective domain in terms of the expression and understanding of feelings, attitudes and values associated with the impact of hearing loss on the lives of deaf students and significant others within their social milieu. Course content, project description, and effective approaches for implementing this type of course in high schools, colleges and other programs serving deaf students are presented

Amostragem multi-adaptativa de tráfego de rede

http://crc2011.uc.pt/A monitorização eficiente de redes e serviços tem um papel crucial no suporte à gestão e engenharia das redes de comunicações atuais. Obter uma visão realista do estado da rede sem, no entanto, interferir na sua operação normal é essencial no suporte à decisão dos operadores de redes e dos sistemas auto-configuráveis. Neste sentido, as técnicas de amostragem de tráfego procuram reduzir o impacto da monitorização no funcionamento da rede, mantendo a acurácia na estimação de parâmetros referentes ao seu comportamento estatístico. Embora seja observada uma evolução das atuais técnicas na correta estimação do desempenho da rede, o overhead associado ao volume de dados envolvidos nos processos de amostragem de tráfego ainda é considerável. Neste contexto, este trabalho propõe uma nova técnica de amostragem multi-adaptativa de tráfego, baseada em predição linear, que tem por objetivo reduzir significativamente o volume total de dados envolvidos na monitorização do estado da rede, sem comprometer a representatividade das amostras na estimação dos parâmetros em análise. A avaliação desta proposta, com base em coletas de tráfego real, demonstra que é possível reduzir significativamente o volume de dados analisado e mesmo assim alcançar, em vários parâmetros de caracterização, resultados mais precisos que as técnicas classicamente utilizadas

Yes-go cross-couplings in collections of tensor fields with mixed symmetries of the type (3,1) and (2,2)

Under the hypotheses of analyticity, locality, Lorentz covariance, and Poincare invariance of the deformations, combined with the requirement that the interaction vertices contain at most two space-time derivatives of the fields, we investigate the consistent cross-couplings between two collections of tensor fields with the mixed symmetries of the type (3,1) and (2,2). The computations are done with the help of the deformation theory based on a cohomological approach in the context of the antifield-BRST formalism. Our results can be synthesized in: 1. there appear consistent cross-couplings between the two types of field collections at order one and two in the coupling constant such that some of the gauge generators and of the reducibility functions are deformed, and 2. the existence or not of cross-couplings among different fields with the mixed symmetry of the Riemann tensor depends on the indefinite or respectively positive-definite behaviour of the quadratic form defined by the kinetic terms from the free Lagrangian.Comment: 35 page

Enhancing traffic sampling scope and efficiency

Traffic Sampling is a crucial step towards scalable network measurements, enclosing manifold challenges. The wide variety of foreseeable sampling scenarios demands for a modular view of sampling components and features, grounded on a consistent architecture. Articulating the measurement scope, the required information model and the adequate sampling strategy is a major design issue for achieving an encompassing and efficient sampling solution. This is the main focus of the present work, where a layered architecture, a taxonomy of existing sampling techniques distinguishing their inner characteristics and a flexible framework able to combine these characteristics are introduced. In addition, a new multiadaptive technique proposal, based on linear prediction, allows to reduce the measurement overhead significantly, while assuring that traffic samples reflect the statistical behavior of the global traffic under analysis.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

SAMBA: Stochastic Analytical Model with a Bayesian Approach

We develop and estimate a DSGE model for the Brazilian economy, to be used as part of the macroeconomic modeling framework at the Central Bank of Brazil. The model combines the building blocks of standard DSGE models (e.g., price and wage rigidities and adjustment costs) with the following features that better describe the Brazilian economy: (i) a fiscal authority pursuing an explicit target for the primary surplus; (ii) administered or regulated prices as part of consumer prices; (iii) external finance for imports, amplifying the effects of changes in external financial conditions on the economy; and (iv) imported goods used in the production function of differentiated goods. It also includes the presence of financially constrained households. We estimate the model with Bayesian techniques, using data starting in 1999, when inflation targeting was implemented. Model evaluation, based on impulse response functions, moment conditions, variance error decomposition and initial forecasting exercises, suggests that the model can be a useful tool for policy analysis and forecasting.

The Dwarf Galaxy NGC 1705 -- A Highly Composite Stellar Population

We present visible and near-infrared images of the amorphous dwarf galaxy NGC 1705 in the $B$, $V$, $R$, $J$, $H$, and $K$ bands. Optical and near infrared colors in the galaxy are consistent with a composite population with colors similar to those of the bluest Sc nuclei. The contribution of young stars to the disk population of the galaxy decreases outwards from the center. In the near infrared images we detect three unresolved point sources, two of which have colors and luminosities comparable to intermediate age LMC clusters.Comment: uuencoded compressed tarred postscript including figures. Accepted for publication in AJ

Screening of Potential anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Candidates: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Chagas disease (CD), caused by the intracellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a parasitic illness endemic in Latin America. In the centennial after CD discovery by Carlos Chagas (1909), although it still represents an important public health problem in these affected areas, the existing chemotherapy, based on benznidazole and nifurtimox (both introduced more than four decades ago), is far from being considered ideal due to substantial toxicity, variable effect on different parasite stocks and well-known poor activity on the chronic phase. CD is considered one of the major “neglected” diseases of the world, as commercial incentives are very limited to guarantee investments for developing and discovering novel drugs. In this context, our group has been pursuing, over the last years, the efficacy, selectivity, toxicity, cellular targets and mechanisms of action of new potential anti-T. cruzi candidates screened from an in-house compound library of different research groups in the area of medicinal chemistry. A brief review regarding these studies will be discussed, mainly related to the effect on T. cruzi of (i) diamidines and related compounds, (ii) natural naphthoquinone derivatives, and (iii) megazol derivatives

Surface site density, silicic acid retention and transport properties of compacted magnetite powder

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