Raising awareness for potential sustainability effects in Uganda: A survey-based empirical study

Copyright © 2019 for this paper by its authors. In July 2019, we ran the 3rd International BRIGHT summer school for Software Engineering and Information Systems at the Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. The participants developed a group project over the course of the week, which included the application of the Sustainability Awareness Framework. The framework promotes discussion on the impact of software systems on sustainability based on a set of questions. In this paper, we present the educational evaluation of the Sustainability Awareness Framework in a country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results indicate that the framework can provide supportive guidance of the societal and environmental challenges in the given context

The monoid of queue actions

We investigate the monoid of transformations that are induced by sequences of writing to and reading from a queue storage. We describe this monoid by means of a confluent and terminating semi-Thue system and study some of its basic algebraic properties, e.g., conjugacy. Moreover, we show that while several properties concerning its rational subsets are undecidable, their uniform membership problem is NL-complete. Furthermore, we present an algebraic characterization of this monoid's recognizable subsets. Finally, we prove that it is not Thurston-automatic

Mind the chasm: A UK fisheye lens view of sustainable software engineering

Requirements that express the needs of all stakeholders and cover the key aspects of a software system (such as those addressing sustainability) are critical to the system’s successful development and adoption. For practitioners who want to develop sustainable software-intensive systems, it is also argued that software requirements are the key leverage point. But what do software developers know about broader sustainability and sustainability requirements in particular? As part of the University of Huddersfield’s ’Student as a Researcher’ initiative, this paper provides a FishEye Lens View on how novice software developers who design and develop software systems at software companies relate to the notions of sustainability and sustainability requirements. The study has found that although sustainability is valued highly by the novice software developers, the concept of sustainability and sustainability requirements are not fully understood. This lack of knowledge in the software industry and organizations must be addressed to enable delivery of truly sustainability enabling software systems

Efeito de diferentes doses de fertilizante de liberação controlada em mudas de pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.).

O pequi é encontrado em densidades elevadas em meio a pastagens naturais ou pastagens cultivadas, além das vegetações naturais na região do Cerrado. O seu cultivo, embora incipiente, tem sido praticado em sistema silvipastoril no Estado do Mato Grosso e Tocantins. A fertilização do substrato é uma das fases mais importantes para a produção de mudas de espécies arbóreas proporcionando melhor desenvolvimento, precocidade e maior sobrevivência em campo. Existem no mercado inúmeros tipos de adubos, que variam na sua composição, forma (pó, grânulos e encapsulados) e solubilidade. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar os parâmetros de crescimento; diâmetro do colo, altura, número de folhas, e peso seco da parte aérea e do sistema radicular de mudas de pequi submetidas a diferentes doses de fertilizantes de liberação controlada. Os tratamentos utilizados foram: 0; 1,5; 3,0; 6,0 e 9,0 gramas de Osmocote® 15-9-12 (seis meses) por planta, que corresponderam as doses de 0; 1,36; 2,71; 5,43 e 8,14 g de Osmocote® 15-9-12 por litro de substrato, respectivamente. As mudas de pequi responderam de forma positiva e linear em número de folhas (y = 7,115556 + 0,682222x, R2 = 80,95 %) e em produção de matéria seca da parte aérea (y = 9,519733 + 0,849400x, R2 = 87,22 %). Para incremento em diâmetro do colo a melhor dose foi a de 2,71 g/litro de substrato seguida pela de 8,14 g/ litro de substrato, para incremento em altura a melhor dose foi a de 8,14 g/ litro de substrato seguida pela de 2,71 g/ litro de substrato; e a melhor relação raiz/parte aérea foi encontrada com a dose de 8,14 g/ litro de substrato. Projeto Fontes alternativas de matéria prima para produção de biocombustíveis

Clonal Dissemination Of Vana-type Glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus Faecalis Between Hospitals Of Two Cities Located 100 Km Apart.

Nosocomial dissemination of glycopeptide-resistant enterococci represents a major problem in hospitals worldwide. In Brazil, the dissemination among hospitals in the city of São Paulo of polyclonal DNA profiles was previously described for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. We describe here the dissemination of VanA phenotype E. faecalis between two hospitals located in different cities in the State of São Paulo. The index outbreak occurred in a tertiary care university hospital (HCUSP) in the city of São Paulo and three years later a cluster caused by the same strain was recognized in two patients hospitalized in a private tertiary care hospital (CMC) located 100 km away in the interior of the state. From May to July 1999, 10 strains of vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis were isolated from 10 patients hospitalized in the HCUSP. The DNA genotyping using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) showed that all isolates were originated from the same clone, suggesting nosocomial dissemination. From May to July 2002, three strains of vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis were isolated from two patients hospitalized in CMC and both patients were colonized by the vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in skin lesions. All isolates from CMC and HCUSP were highly resistant to vancomycin and teicoplanin. The three strains from CMC had minimum inhibitory concentration >256 micro g/ml for vancomycin, and 64 (CMC 1 and CMC 2) and 96 micro g/ml (CMC 3) for teicoplanin, characterizing a profile of VanA resistance to glycopeptides. All strains had the presence of the transposon Tn1546 detected by PCR and were closely related when typed by PFGE. The dissemination of the E. faecalis VanA phenotype among hospitals located in different cities is of great concern because E. faecalis commonly colonizes the gastrointestinal tract of patients and healthy persons for periods varying from weeks to years, which, together with the persistence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in hospital rooms after standard cleaning procedures, increases the risk of the dissemination and reservoir of the bacteria.371339-4

Dissection of DNA double-strand-break repair using novel single-molecule forceps.

Repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) requires multiple proteins to recognize and bind DNA ends, process them for compatibility, and ligate them together. We constructed novel DNA substrates for single-molecule nanomanipulation, allowing us to mechanically detect, probe, and rupture in real-time DSB synapsis by specific human NHEJ components. DNA-PKcs and Ku allow DNA end synapsis on the 100 ms timescale, and the addition of PAXX extends this lifetime to ~2 s. Further addition of XRCC4, XLF and ligase IV results in minute-scale synapsis and leads to robust repair of both strands of the nanomanipulated DNA. The energetic contribution of the different components to synaptic stability is typically on the scale of a few kilocalories per mole. Our results define assembly rules for NHEJ machinery and unveil the importance of weak interactions, rapidly ruptured even at sub-picoNewton forces, in regulating this multicomponent chemomechanical system for genome integrity

Clinical care recommendations for cardiologists treating adults with myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy is an inherited systemic disorder affecting skeletal muscle and the heart. Genetic testing for myotonic dystrophy is diagnostic and identifies those at risk for cardiac complications. The 2 major genetic forms of myotonic dystrophy, type 1 and type 2, differ in genetic etiology yet share clinical features. The cardiac management of myotonic dystrophy should include surveillance for arrhythmias and left ventricular dysfunction, both of which occur in progressive manner and contribute to morbidity and mortality. To promote the development of care guidelines for myotonic dystrophy, the Myotonic Foundation solicited the input of care experts and organized the drafting of these recommendations. As a rare disorder, large scale clinical trial data to guide the management of myotonic dystrophy are largely lacking. The following recommendations represent expert consensus opinion from those with experience in the management of myotonic dystrophy, in part supported by literature-based evidence where available

Clinical care recommendations for cardiologists treating adults with myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy is an inherited systemic disorder affecting skeletal muscle and the heart. Genetic testing for myotonic dystrophy is diagnostic and identifies those at risk for cardiac complications. The 2 major genetic forms of myotonic dystrophy, type 1 and type 2, differ in genetic etiology yet share clinical features. The cardiac management of myotonic dystrophy should include surveillance for arrhythmias and left ventricular dysfunction, both of which occur in progressive manner and contribute to morbidity and mortality. To promote the development of care guidelines for myotonic dystrophy, the Myotonic Foundation solicited the input of care experts and organized the drafting of these recommendations. As a rare disorder, large scale clinical trial data to guide the management of myotonic dystrophy are largely lacking. The following recommendations represent expert consensus opinion from those with experience in the management of myotonic dystrophy, in part supported by literature-based evidence where available