Server Placement with Shared Backups for Disaster-Resilient Clouds

A key strategy to build disaster-resilient clouds is to employ backups of virtual machines in a geo-distributed infrastructure. Today, the continuous and acknowledged replication of virtual machines in different servers is a service provided by different hypervisors. This strategy guarantees that the virtual machines will have no loss of disk and memory content if a disaster occurs, at a cost of strict bandwidth and latency requirements. Considering this kind of service, in this work, we propose an optimization problem to place servers in a wide area network. The goal is to guarantee that backup machines do not fail at the same time as their primary counterparts. In addition, by using virtualization, we also aim to reduce the amount of backup servers required. The optimal results, achieved in real topologies, reduce the number of backup servers by at least 40%. Moreover, this work highlights several characteristics of the backup service according to the employed network, such as the fulfillment of latency requirements.Comment: Computer Networks 201

Estudo da vinculação e da empatia em adolescentes institucionalizados com acompanhamento psicológico no piac (plano integrado de apoio à comunidade). Autoeficácia de diretores escolares: alguns aspectos que interferem em suas crenças

Este estudio analiza los testimonios de dos directores de escuela acerca de sus percepciones respecto de los motivos que pueden haber potenciado las oscilaciones en sus creencias de autoeficacia para ejercer un liderazgo que promueva el espíritu escolar entre los alumnos y motive a los profesores. El estudio se llevó a cabo a través de dos fases distintas, utilizando como instrumento el Questionario Principal y preguntas específicas sobre las barreras y facilidades que podrían haber causado las fluctuaciones en las percepciones de la autoeficacia. Se ha verificado que la falta de cumplimiento, la inseguridad, los pobres resultados de los exámenes externos y el contexto político son vistos como aspectos de contexto que actúan como barreras para la creencia de autoeficacia. A pesar de ello, el deseo de lograr mejores resultados, el apoyo del personal y perfeccionamiento de los docentes fueron identificados como aspectos que parecen actuar como facilitadores. Los resultados se analizaron con el fin de lograr la integración entre la construcción de la autoeficacia de los directores de las escuelas, las condiciones sociales en las que las escuelas están integrados y las políticas educativas vigentes en la actualidad en las escuelas públicas en el estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Estos sugieren que las políticas educativas que impregnan el trabajo de la escuela es más importante que las condiciones sociales de las que se extraen los estudiantes para promover las principales creencias de efectividad escolar.This study refers to the analysis of the testimony of two school principals about their perceptions concerning the matters that may have potentiated oscillations in their self-efficacy beliefs to exercise leadership to promote school spirit among students and motivate teachers. The study was performed through two distinct phases, using as instruments the Principal Questionnaire and specific questions about the barriers and facilities that could have caused fluctuations in perceptions of self-efficacy. It was verified that the absence of compliance, insecurity, poor external examination results and the political context are seen as aspects of contexts that stand as barriers to self-efficacy belief. Notwithstanding, the desire to achieve better results, the support of the staff and faculty enhancement were identified as aspects that seem to act as facilitators. The results were discussed in order to seek integration between building self-efficacy of school principals, the social conditions in which schools are embedded and educational policies currently in place in public schools in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. These suggest that educational policies that permeate the schoolwork are more important than the social conditions from which students are drawn to promote the school principals belief efficacy.Este estudo refere-se à análise da fala de duas diretoras de escola sobre suas percepções relativas aos aspectos que podem ter potencializado oscilações em suas crenças de autoeficácia para exercer a liderança e promover a valorização da escola entre os alunos e motivar os docentes. Foi realizada por meio de duas fases distintas, utilizando-se como instrumentos o Questionário do Gestor Escolar e perguntas específicas sobre as barreiras e as facilidades que podiam ter provocado oscilações nas percepções de autoeficácia. Verificou-se que a ausência de cumprimento de normas, a insegurança, os baixos resultados obtidos em avaliações externas e o contexto político são tidos como aspectos de contextos que se colocam como barreiras à crença de autoeficácia. Já, a vontade de conseguir melhores resultados, o apoio dos funcionários e a valorização docente foram apontadas como aspectos que parecem atuar como facilitadores. Os resultados foram discutidos de modo a buscar a integração entre a construção da autoeficácia de diretores escolares, as condições sociais em que as escolas estão inseridas e as políticas educacionais atualmente em vigor na rede pública estadual de São Paulo, Brasil. Estes sugerem que as políticas educacionais que permeiam o trabalho escolar são mais importantes do que as condições sociais das quais os estudantes são oriundos para se promover a crença de eficácia de gestores escolares.peerReviewe

Intelligence, age and schooling : data from Battery of Reasoning Tests (BRT-5)

Intelligence is commonly divided into two distinctive areas: fluid intelligence (Gf), which is understood as the skill of reasoning or intelligence as a process, and crystallized intelligence (Gc) that involves skills that are more related to learning and experience (knowledge-based skills). The objective of the present work was to investigate the effects that schooling and age exert on fluid and crystallized intelligence measuring students’ results in sub-tests of the Battery of Reasoning Test (BRT-5). This study considered a sample composed of 1,722 students – 603 were assessed with Form A of the battery and 1,119 with Form B. The results show that intelligence is systematically associated with schooling and age. Some difficulties in separating the effects of cognitive development from the effects of formal learning on students’ cognitive performance are also emphasized.A inteligência é comumente dividida em fluida (Gf), entendida como habilidade de raciocínio ou inteligência como um processo, e cristalizada (Gc) como as habilidades mais associadas à aprendizagem e experiência (habilidades associadas aos conhecimentos). No presente trabalho, o objetivo foi investigar os efeitos que a escolarização e a idade exercem sobre Gf e Gc tomando os resultados dos alunos nos subtestes da Bateria de Provas de Raciocínio (BPR-5). Este estudo considerou uma amostra composta por 1722 estudantes respondendo 603 à forma A dessa bateria e 1119 à sua forma B. Os resultados apontam relações sistemáticas entre inteligência, escolaridade e idade. Também se enfatiza a dificuldade em se separar os efeitos do desenvolvimento cognitivo e da aprendizagem formal no desempenho cognitivo dos alunos.MCT/CNPqMEC/CAPESABENEPI - Associação Brasileira de Neurologia e Psiquiatria InfantilIBICITPPG - Psicologia - UFRGSPró-Reitoria de Pesquisa da UFRGS/Programa de Apoio à Edição de Periódico

Correlation between streptomycin intermediate-level resistance and gidB mutation in an endemic multidrugresistant tuberculosis cluster

Development of streptomycin-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is usually associated with mutations in rpsL and rrs genes, although up to 50% of clinical streptomycin-resistant isolates may present no mutation in either of these genes. The situation in Lisbon Health Region is similar, although mutations in rrs geneare only rarely detected. In the present report we investigate the role of gidB gene mutations in streptomycin resistance. We have analyzed 52 streptomycin-resistant and 30 streptomycin-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates by sequencing and endonuclease analysis of the gidB and rpsL genes. All clinical isolates were genotyped by 12-loci MIRU-VNTR. Semiquantitative drug susceptibility testing was also performed to a select set of isolates to assess the resistance levels towards streptomycin. The gidB gene of 18 streptomycin-resistant isolates was sequenced and four missense mutations were found: F12L (1/18), L16R (18/18), A80P (4/18) and S100F (18/18). The remaining isolates were screened by endonuclease analysis for mutations A80P in gidB and K43R in rpsL gene. Overall, mutation A80P in gidB gene was found in 7 streptomycin-resistant isolates and 12 streptomycin-susceptible multidrug resistant isolates. Also noteworthy, comparison of the distribution of gidB, rpsL and rrs mutations revealed that gidB A80P mutation was only present in isolates without rpsL and rrs mutations. Moreover, this specific mutation was found among all isolates belonging to genetic cluster Q1. Streptomycin quantitative drug susceptibility testing showed that isolates carrying the GidB A80P mutation were streptomycin intermediate-level resistant and that standard drug susceptibility testing yielded inconsistent results probably due to borderline resistance. Bioinformatic analysis on the degree of conservation showed that the GidB A80P mutation is predicted to affect protein function. We conclude that gidB mutations may explain the high number of streptomycin-resistant strains with no mutation in rpsL or rrs. These mutations might occasionally confer undetected streptomycin low level resistance in regular drug susceptibility testing. Also, GidB A80P mutations may serve as surrogate markers for Q1 cluster isolates that are associated with multidrug/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis

Implementação BIM nos projetos de ensino do Departamento de Engenharia Civil da UMinho

O artigo pretende comunicar a estratégia de implementação de BIM nos vários projetos de ensino do Departamento de Engenharia Civil da Universidade do Minho, particularmente no Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Civil, no Mestrado em Construção e Reabilitação Sustentáveis e no International Master in Sustainable Built Environment. Mais do que fazer um estado da arte sobre a implementação BIM em contexto académico, pretende dar-se um testemunho de um processo que está em desenvolvimento já desde o ano letivo 2012/2013 e que tem vindo paulatinamente a ser consolidado. Será possível ilustrar a evolução da qualidade e profundidade que os alunos têm atingido em anos consecutivos, que se deve ao progresso da equipa docente, ao apoio de alunos de anos anteriores e também a melhorias ao nível das próprias aplicações informática

High-level resistance to isoniazid and ethionamide in multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis of the Lisboa family is associated with inhA double mutations

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of isoniazid and ethionamide resistance and to identify associated mutations in endemic multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. Methods Seventeen clinical MDR tuberculosis (TB) strains were characterized by standard and semi-quantitative drug susceptibility testing to assess the level of isoniazid and ethionamide resistance. The genes katG, inhA, ethA and ndh were screened for mutations. All strains were genotyped by 24 loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) analysis. Results All strains showed high-level resistance to both isoniazid (>1 mg/L) and ethionamide (>25 mg/L). MIRU-VNTR typing revealed the presence of two main clusters, Lisboa3 and Q1, in 16/17 strains, all of which showed the C−15T mutation in the promoter region of the inhA gene. The 16 strains belong to the Latino-American-Mediterranean (LAM) genotype and the other strain belongs to the Beijing genotype. Sequencing of the inhA open reading frame revealed that the 16 strains also had mutations in the structural region of the gene, leading to the S94A substitution in 9 strains and the I194T substitution in 7 strains. Conclusions The results reveal that the presence of a mutation in the inhA regulatory region together with a mutation in the inhA coding region can lead to the development of high-level isoniazid resistance and cross-resistance to ethionamide among the MDR-TB strains circulating in Lisbon. This mutational pattern also hints to a possible involvement of strain-specific factors that could be a feature of the Portuguese MDR-TB strains where the LAM family is the major circulating genotyp

Impact of efflux in the development of multidrug resistance phenotypes in Staphylococcus aureus

WOS: 000363382300003Background: Efflux has been recognized as a resistance mechanism to antimicrobials in Staphylococcus aureus; however its role on the development of clinically relevant resistance is still poorly characterized. This study aimed to examine the impact of efflux on development of resistance to fluoroquinolones and other antimicrobials in S. aureus strains representing relevant phenotypes in terms of antibiotic susceptibility and efflux activity. Methods: Two closely related methicillin- and ciprofloxacin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains, with different efflux capacity and the pan-susceptible strain ATCC25923 were exposed to constant concentrations of the efflux pump (EP) substrates ciprofloxacin, ethidium bromide and cetrimide. Parental and exposed strains were tested regarding their susceptibility towards antibiotics, biocides and ethidium bromide, efflux capacity and levels of EP gene expression. Occurrence of resistance-associated mutations was screened by sequencing. Results: Multidrug resistance phenotypes emerged upon exposure, independently of the substrate or its concentration, which were correlated with increased efflux capacity of the exposed strains. The temporal pattern of EP gene expression disclosed an early-response with high expression of several genes, followed by a late-response, characterized by overexpression of specific genes. The overall cell response was more pronounced for strains with an initial basal efflux activity. Remarkably, detection of the IS256 element in the promoter regions of mgrA and norA, in some cases associated with increased gene expression, suggests that these genes may be hot spots for IS256 insertion events. The results obtained with exposure of ATCC25923 to ciprofloxacin were particularly striking, revealing a step-wise development of fluoroquinolone resistance, with a first efflux-mediated response, followed by the occurrence of a mutation in grlA that resulted in phenotypic resistance. Additionally, challenge by non-fluoroquinolone agents, particularly cetrimide, promoted cross resistance to fluoroquinolones, revealing the potential role of biocides as selective pressure for the emergence of resistance to these antibiotics. Conclusions: This study reveals efflux as a significant component of S. aureus resistance to fluoroquinolones and biocides and as a primary mechanism to withstand stress imposed by antimicrobials. This efflux-mediated response can result in the emergence of multidrug resistance in healthcare environments and should be taken into account in the management of this major pathogen.publishersversionpublishe

RESPONSABILIDADE SOCIAL NO MEIO ACADÊMICO: UM ESTUDO COM ALUNOS DE CIÊNCIAS CONTÁBEIS

O estudo objetivou avaliar a percepção sobre responsabilidade social que os discentes do curso de Ciências Contábeis possuem. Para tanto se desenvolveu uma pesquisa de survey com questionário de autopreenchimento aplicado em dois cursos ministrados em campus diferentes de uma universidade comunitária de Santa Catarina. Levantaram-se dados sobre as características sociodemográficas dos alunos, aos que se questionou sobre uma situação fictícia de compra de um produto. Os métodos estatísticos usados foram análise fatorial e análise de variância. Os resultados indicam que a maioria possui um conhecimento adequado da temática. A maior diferença se observa entre os estudantes que se autoavaliem como comprometidos com o meio ambiente e não comprometidos. Os primeiros foram os que mais bem avaliam as ações da empresa fictícia do relato. Quanto à percepção de justiça a maioria considera justo que o preço seja diferenciado, cobrando-se mais pelo produto se comparado com um similar oferecido pela concorrência que não realiza ações de responsabilidade social. Embora a ANOVA não mostrasse diferença significativa cabe também mencionar que a disciplina Responsabilidade Social quando ministrada em regime presencial favorece um discernimento relativamente mais eficiente