Learning network node representations from structural identity

Structural identity is a concept of symmetry in which network nodes are identified according to the network structure and their relationship to other nodes. Structural identity has been studied in theory and practice over the past decades, but only recently has it been addressed with representational learning techniques. This work presents struc2vec, a novel and flexible framework for learning latent representations for the structural identity of nodes. struc2vec uses a hierarchy to measure node similarity at different scales, and constructs a multilayer graph to encode structural similarities and generate structural context for nodes. Numerical experiments indicate that state-of-the-art techniques for learning node representations fail in capturing stronger notions of structural identity, while struc2vec exhibits much superior performance in this task, as it overcomes limitations of prior approaches. As a consequence, numerical experiments indicate that struc2vec improves performance on classification tasks that depend more on structural identity.Identidade estrutural é um conceito de simetria, no qual vértices em uma rede são identificados de acordo com a estrutura da rede e com seus relacionamentos com outros vértices. A identidade estrutural tem sido estudada na teoria e na prática durante as últimas décadas, mas, somente recentemente, técnicas para aprendizado de representações latentes vêm sendo utilizadas neste contexto. Este trabalho apresenta o struc2vec, um framework inovador e flexível, utilizado para o aprendizado de representações latentes da identidade estrutural de vértices. struc2vec usa uma hierarquia para medir a similaridade de vértices em diferentes escalas, e constrói um grafo multi-camadas para codificar similaridades estruturais e gerar contexto estrutural para vértices. Experimentos numéricos indicam que recentes técnicas para aprendizado de representações de vértices falham em capturar uma forte noção de identidade estrutural, enquanto struc2vec exibe um desempenho muito superior nestas tarefas, uma vez que supera as limitações das técnicas anteriores. Como consequência, experimentos numéricos indicam ainda que struc2vec melhora o desempenho em tarefas de classificação que dependem mais da identidade estrutural

Fungal Glucosylceramides: From Structural Components to Biologically Active Targets of New Antimicrobials

The first work reporting synthesis of glucosylceramide (cerebrin, GlcCer) by yeasts was published in 1930. During approximately 70 years members of this class of glycosphingolipids (GSL) were considered merely structural components of plasma membrane in fungi. However, in the last decade GlcCer was reported to be involved with fungal growth, differentiation, virulence, immunogenicity, and lipid raft architecture in at least two human pathogens. Fungal GlcCer are structurally distinct from their mammalian counterparts and enriched at the cell wall, which makes this molecule an effective target for antifungal activity of specific ligands (peptides and antibodies to GlcCer). Therefore, GSL are promising targets for new drugs to combat fungal diseases. This review discusses the most recent information on biosynthesis and role of GlcCer in fungal pathogens

Child programming: an adequate domain specific language for programming specific robots

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia InformáticaDue to the limited existence of dedicated robot programming solutions for children (as well as scientific studies), this work presents the design and implementation of a visual domain specific language (DSL), using the Model-Driven Development approach(MDD), for programming robotics and automaton systems with the goal to increase productivity and simplify the software development process. The target audience for this DSL is mostly children with ages starting from 8 years old. Our work implied to use the typical Software Language Engineering life cycle, starting by an elaborate study of the user’s profile, based on work in cognitive sciences, and a Domain analysis. Several visual design paradigms were considered during the design phase of our DSL, and we have focused our studies on the Behavior Trees paradigm, a paradigm intensively used in the gaming industry. Intuitive, simplicity and a small learning curve were the three main concerns considered during the design and development phases. To help validating the DSL and the proposed approach, we used a concrete robotic product for children built with the Open Source Arduino platform as target domain. The last part of this work was dedicated to study the adequacy of the language design choices, compared to other solutions (including commercial technologies), to the target users with different ages and different cognitive-development stages. We have also studied the benefits of the chosen paradigm to domain experts’ proficient on robot programming in different paradigms to determine the possibility to generalize the solution to different user profiles

Epidemiologia de fraturas osteoporóticas no serviço de urgência dos CHUC

Trabalho final de mestrado integrado em Medicina, apresentado à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra.Introdução: As fracturas osteoporóticas ocorrem com maior frequência ao nível do fémur proximal, coluna toraco-lombar, úmero proximal e rádio distal. Como apenas alguns dos doentes com fracturas vertebrais, da tíbia, do úmero ou do antebraço, são sujeitos a tratamento médico em ambiente hospitalar, torna-se extremamente difícil determinar com rigor a real incidência e prevalência destas fracturas. Objetivos: Caracterizar a epidemiologia das fraturas osteoporóticas observadas no SU do CHUC – polo HUC, caracterizar o estado funcional, tempo de recuperação e recursos médicos utilizados após a fratura e avaliar a prescrição de fármacos anti-osteoporóticos. Materiais e métodos: Procedeu-se a um estudo transversal, no qual foram identificados todos os doentes com mais de 50 anos que tiveram um diagnóstico/ avaliação por parte da ortopedia no serviço de urgência dos HUC no período entre 1 de Abril e 30 de Junho de 2013. Por verificação manual recorrendo-se ao Alert, verificaram-se todos os registos desses doentes para identificação de fraturas que poderiam estar descritas como diagnóstico final ou nas notas clínicas. Procedeu-se de seguida a um inquérito telefónico previamente validado a uma sub amostra selecionada aleatoriamente de cada tipo de fratura (rádio, úmero, coluna vertebral e tíbia) para colheita de dados sócio demográficos e clínicos aplicação do .EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) e fatores clínicos incluídos no algoritmo FRAX. O tratamento estatístico dos dados foi realizado com recurso ao software SPSS® 19.0 e ao Excel. Resultados: Foram incluídos 435 doentes com fracturas confirmadas. Destas 129 eram fraturas da anca que não foram posteriormente estudados. A amostra consiste em 306 fraturas agrupadas em 5 grupos: 26 fraturas vertebrais , 26 fraturas úmero, 100 fraturas rádio, 49 fraturas tíbia/perónio, 105 outras fraturas. Foram contactados aleatoriamente e tendo por base o número inicial de fraturas, 50 doentes com fraturas (20 rádio,10 úmero, 10 tíbia e 10 fraturas vertebrais) Nos quatro grupos houve um predomínio de doentes do sexo feminino com média de idades a variar entre 68,5 anos (rádio), 68,7 anos (úmero), 63 anos (tíbia) e 71,2 anos (fraturas vertebrais) . A fratura do rádio é aquela onde se observa um maior número de doentes sem fatores de risco (35%), as fraturas vertebrais são aquelas que apresentam maior proporção de doentes com mais de 4 fatores de risco (10%). Dos 50 doentes em estudo 98% referiram que a fratura decorreu de uma queda. Mais de metade (60%) dos doentes apresentavam indicação clara para tratamento antes da fratura utilizando o algoritmo FRAX. Contudo após a fratura apenas 5 doentes (10%) estavam a fazer tratamento antiosteoporotico, sendo que só 2 doentes estavam a ser tratado com bifosfonatos e os restantes apenas com cálcio e Vitamina D. Após o episódio de fratura 94% dos doentes foram acompanhados em consulta de Medicina Geral e Familiar ou de Ortopedia. Observa-se um declínio em todas as dimensões do EQ-D5 um ano após a ocorrência da fratura, tendo por base o estado funcional do doente antes do episódio traumático. Conclusão: A maioria das fraturas osteoporóticas ocorreu em indivíduos com fatores de risco conhecidos, sendo portanto passíveis de prevenção. Contudo a maioria dos doentes deste estudo não recebeu qualquer tipo de tratamento preventivo da osteoporose após a alta do CHUC.Introduction: The osteoporotic fractures occur with greater frequency at the level of the proximal femur, thoraco-lumbar column, proximal humerus and distal radius. As only some of the patients with vertebral fractures, the tibia, humerus or forearm, are subject to medical treatment in a hospital environment, it is extremely difficult to determine with accuracy the actual incidence and prevalence of these fractures. Aim: Characterize the epidemiology of osteoporotic fractures observed in SU of the CHUC - polo HUC, characterize the functional status, recovery time and medical resources used after fracture and assess the prescription of anti-osteoporotic drugs. Patients and methods: There was a cross-sectional study, in which they were raised all patients with more than 50 years of age who have had a diagnosis/evaluation by the orthopedics in emergency service of HUC in the period between 1 April and June 30, 2013. By manually checking using the Alert, there were checked all the records of these patients for identification of fractures. There was then a telephone interview, previously validated in a sub sample selected at random from each type of fracture (radius, humerus, vertebral and tibia), for data collection regarding demographic and clinical application of EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Clinical factors were included in FRAX algorithm. The statistical treatment of the data was performed using the software SPSS® 19.0 and Excel. Results: Were included 435 patients with fractures confirmed. Of these, 129 were fractures of the hip that were not subsequently studied. The sample consists of 306 fractures grouped into 5 groups: 26 vertebral fractures, 26 humerus fractures, 100 radius fractures, 49 fractures tibia/fibula fractures and 105 other fractures. Were contacted 50 patients with fractures (20 radius,10 humerus, 10 tibia and 10 vertebral fractures). In the four groups there was a predominance of female patients, with mean ages ranging from 68.5 years (radio), 68.7 years (humerus), 63 years (tibia) and 71.2 years (vertebral fractures). The fracture of the radius is the one where there is a greater number of patients with no risk factors (35 %) while the vertebral fractures are those that have a higher proportion of patients with more than 4 risk factors (10 % ). Of the 50 patients, 98% reported that the fracture was due to a fall. More than half (60 %) patients had clear indication for treatment before the fracture used the FRAX algorithm. However after the fracture only 5 patients (10 %) were doing anti-osteoporosis drugs, 2 of them were being treated with bisphosphonates while the others were treated only with calcium and vitamin D. After the fracture’s episode, 94% of patients were followed up in consultation of General Practitioner or Orthopedics. There is a decline in all the dimensions of EQ-D5 one year after the occurrence of fracture, based on the functional status of the patient before the traumatic episode. Conclusions; The majority of osteoporotic fractures occurred in individuals with known risk factors, and therefore are preventable. However the majority of patients in this study did not receive any type of preventive treatment for osteoporosis after the medical high of the CHU

Analysis of performance evaluation model through the balanced scorecard in a footwear industry

In recent decades, significant changes have been noted in the business world, due to the increasing demand of customers, political and economic moments that create a dynamic nonmarket increasingly unstable, contributing to increasing challenges in understanding the demands. The objective was to evaluate the model operations management method BSC, in order to reduce costs and increase productivity and competitiveness. A study was conducted through a semi-open process, with 180 employees at a midsize company in the footwear industry Jaú, collecting information and data from the managers of each area. We conclude that the requirements for improved performance within organizations have made approaches for the management of operations evolve, becoming a broad and network management in the business, contributing to improvements in the condition of growth and sustainability of organizational activity. It is noteworthy, then, the need to use all available resources, minimizing problems and maximizing opportunities

A Study of Fitness Landscapes for Neuroevolution

Rodrigues, N. M., Silva, S., & Vanneschi, L. (2020). A Study of Fitness Landscapes for Neuroevolution. In 2020 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, CEC 2020: Conference Proceedings [9185783] (2020 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, CEC 2020 - Conference Proceedings). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/CEC48606.2020.9185783Fitness landscapes are a useful concept to study the dynamics of meta-heuristics. In the last two decades, they have been applied with success to estimate the optimization power of several types of evolutionary algorithms, including genetic algorithms and genetic programming. However, so far they have never been used to study the performance of machine learning algorithms on unseen data, and they have never been applied to neuroevolution. This paper aims at filling both these gaps, applying for the first time fitness landscapes to neuroevolution and using them to infer useful information about the predictive ability of the method. More specifically, we use a grammar-based approach to generate convolutional neural networks, and we study the dynamics of three different mutations to evolve them. To characterize fitness landscapes, we study autocorrelation and entropic measure of ruggedness. The results show that these measures are appropriate for estimating both the optimization power and the generalization ability of the considered neuroevolution configurations.preprintpublishe