A Platform-Based Software Design Methodology for Embedded Control Systems: An Agile Toolkit

A discrete control system, with stringent hardware constraints, is effectively an embedded real-time system and hence requires a rigorous methodology to develop the software involved. The development methodology proposed in this paper adapts agile principles and patterns to support the building of embedded control systems, focusing on the issues relating to a system's constraints and safety. Strong unit testing, to ensure correctness, including the satisfaction of timing constraints, is the foundation of the proposed methodology. A platform-based design approach is used to balance costs and time-to-market in relation to performance and functionality constraints. It is concluded that the proposed methodology significantly reduces design time and costs, as well as leading to better software modularity and reliability

Gift Young Engineers: An Extra-Curricular Initiative for Updating Computer and Electrical Engineering Courses

The curricula of engineering courses are well defined by the central government for all Brazilian universities. Indeed, there are some mandatory determinations that must be fulfilled prior to the accreditation of any engineering course in Brazil. Modifications must be submitted for evaluation beforehand, resulting in a process that sometimes takes years to be approved. That is a secure way to guarantee that the fundamentals of each engineering program will be part of the students’ carrier all over the country, and at the same time a problem when you need to introduce new technological subjects. That poses a problem when you have new demands for technological curricular components that could express the actual state of the art of modern subjects. Trying to solve these issues some professors from the Federal University of Amazonas developed a flexible extra-curricular program for electrical and computer engineering courses, named Gift Young Engineers. This paper describes the philosophy of these extra-curricular programs. Some examples of successful particular partnerships are also discussed. Indeed the proposed training programs for Digital TV Systems (hardware and software) will be presented and analyzed in details. The obtained results will also be discussed in order to contribute to similar experiences worldwide

Use of albumin in exfoliative cytology in patients with allergic conjunctivitis

PURPOSE: To evaluate albumin as fixative material of conjunctival scrapings for exfoliative cytology. METHODS: Conjunctival exfoliative cytology was performed through a prospective study in forty-six eyes of twenty-three patients with clinical diagnosis of allergic conjunctivitis. Three scrapings were performed: (1) in the pretreatment period, (2) after use of corticosteroids (treatment A) and (3) after use of mast cell stabilizer (treatment B); in two types of smears, with and without albumin, which were then submitted to staining by the Giemsa method. RESULTS: Of the twenty-three patients, five (21.7%) were female and eighteen (78.3%) male, with an age average of 10.8 years. Eighteen (78.3%) presented vernal conjunctivitis and five (21.7%) atopic keratoconjunctivitis. By the statistical analysis of the conjunctival cytology, the smears treated with albumin presented a larger number of intact epithelial cells in relation to the nontreated, only in the pretreatment and in the B treatment groups. The number of neutrophils was significantly greater in the B treatment group than in the smears not treated with albumin in relation to the treated ones. Regarding the number of eosinophils there was no difference between the smears treated with albumin in relation to the nontreated, while in the B treatment group there was a statistical difference between the right and left eye regarding smears without albumin. CONCLUSION: There were no statistical differences between smears treated with albumin and those not treated for most researched cells; in addition, albumin adheres mucus hindering the observation of smears, and thus is not indicated for conjunctival exfoliative cytology.OBJETIVO: Avaliar a albumina como fixador de material obtido de raspado conjuntival para citologia esfoliativa. MÉTODOS: Foi realizada citologia esfoliativa conjuntival por meio de estudo prospectivo em quarenta e seis olhos de vinte e três pacientes com conjuntivite alérgica. Foram realizadas três colheitas: (1) na fase aguda, (2) após uso de corticosteróides (tratamento A) e (3) após uso de estabilizador de membrana de mastócitos (tratamento B); em dois tipos de lâminas, com e sem albumina, sendo submetidas à coloração pelo método de Giemsa. RESULTADOS: Dos vinte e três pacientes, cinco (21,7%) eram do sexo feminino e dezoito (78,3%) do sexo masculino, com média de 10,8 anos. Dezoito (78,3%) apresentaram conjuntivite primaveril e cinco (21,7%) ceratoconjuntivite atópica. Após análise estatística da citologia conjuntival, as lâminas tratadas com albumina apresentaram maior número de células epiteliais íntegras em relação às não tratadas, apenas nos grupos pré-tratamento e no grupo do tratamento B. A contagem de neutrófilos foi significativamente maior no grupo de tratamento B nas lâminas não tratadas com albumina em relação às tratadas. Na contagem de eosinófilos não houve diferença entre as lâminas tratadas com albumina em relação às não tratadas, já no grupo de tratamento B houve diferença estatística entre olho direito e esquerdo na lâmina sem albumina. CONCLUSÃO: Não houve diferenças estatísticas entre as lâminas tratadas com albumina e as não tratadas para a maioria das células pesquisadas, além disso, a albumina adere muco dificultando a observação das lâminas, não sendo indicada na citologia esfoliativa de conjuntiva.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de OftalmologiaUniversidade de São Paulo Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Laboratório de Imunologia ClínicaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Oftalmologia Laboratório de Doença Externa Ocular e CórneaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Oftalmologia Setor de Doença Externa Ocular e CórneaUNIFESP, Depto. de OftalmologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de Oftalmologia Laboratório de Doença Externa Ocular e CórneaUNIFESP, Depto. de Oftalmologia Setor de Doença Externa Ocular e CórneaSciEL

Evidências de irregularidades em OSCIPS: uma análise dos exames de auditoria realizados pelo Tribunal de Contas da União = Evidence of Irregulatiries in OSCIPS: An Audit Examination Analysis Conducted by the Court of Auditors of the Union

Esta pesquisa identifica irregularidades cometidas nos termos de parceria firmados com Organizações da Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público (Oscip) em exames de auditoria realizados pelo Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), além de verificar as práticas de accountability nas atividades de auditoria do TCU. Para operacionalizar o estudo procedeu-se com exame documental, técnica adotada para análise dos acórdãos do TCU concernentes às auditorias executadas nas prestações de contas das parcerias governamentais com Oscips. A pesquisa identificou 77 acórdãos com irregularidades no período de 2005 a 2016, que favoreceram um total de 62 Oscips envolvidas em desvios. As irregularidades estão relacionadas ao desconhecimento das normas na elaboração de prestação de contas, falta de controle administrativo adequado na execução dos recursos e, também, situações de superfaturamento financeiro e desvio de finalidades do projeto. Adicionalmente, observou-se que o controle das normas e leis é a principal vertente de análise do TCU quanto aos aspectos da accountability, carecendo de melhores evidenciações sobre o desempenho destas organizações e transparência na execução dos projetos. This research identifies irregularities committed in the terms of partnerships celebrated with Civil Society Organizations of Public Interest (Oscip) in audits conducted by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), as well as to verify accountability practices in TCU audit activities. In order to operationalize the study, we adopted a document and technical examination to analyze TCU's judgments regarding the audits executed in the accounts of government partnerships with Oscips. The research identified 77 judgments with irregularities in the period from 2005 to 2016, which favored a total of 62 Oscips involved in deviations. The irregularities are related to the lack of knowledge of the norms in the elaboration of accountability, lack of adequate administrative control in the execution of the resources, and also, situations of financial overbilling and deviation of project purposes. Additionally, we observed that the control of norms and laws is the main aspect of the TCU's analysis regarding aspects of accountability, lacking better pieces of evidence on the performance of these organizations and transparency in the execution of the projects

Kinetic Theory of a Confined Quasi-Two-Dimensional Gas of Hard Spheres

The dynamics of a system of hard spheres enclosed between two parallel plates separated a distance smaller than two particle diameters is described at the level of kinetic theory. The interest focuses on the behavior of the quasi-two-dimensional fluid seen when looking at the system from above or below. In the first part, a collisional model for the effective two-dimensional dynamics is analyzed. Although it is able to describe quite well the homogeneous evolution observed in the experiments, it is shown that it fails to predict the existence of non-equilibrium phase transitions, and in particular, the bimodal regime exhibited by the real system. A critical revision analysis of the model is presented , and as a starting point to get a more accurate description, the Boltzmann equation for the quasi-two-dimensional gas has been derived. In the elastic case, the solutions of the equation verify an H-theorem implying a monotonic tendency to a non-uniform steady state. As an example of application of the kinetic equation, here the evolution equations for the vertical and horizontal temperatures of the system are derived in the homogeneous approximation, and the results compared with molecular dynamics simulation results.España, Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad FIS2014-53808-

Stability analysis of the homogeneous hydrodynamics of a model for a confined granular gas

The linear hydrodynamic stability of a model for confined quasi-two-dimensional granular gases is analyzed. The system exhibits homogeneous hydrodynamics, i.e., there are macroscopic evolution equations for homogeneous states. The stability analysis is carried out around all these states and not only the homogeneous steady state reached eventually by the system. It is shown that in some cases the linear analysis is not enough to reach a definite conclusion on the stability, and molecular dynamics simulation results are presented to elucidate these cases. The analysis shows the relevance of nonlinear hydrodynamic contributions to describe the behavior of spontaneous fluctuations occurring in the system, that lead even to the transitory formation of clusters of particles. The conclusion is that the system is always stable. The relevance of the results for describing the instabilities of confined granular gases observed experimentally is discussed.España, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Grant No. FIS2014-53808-

Homogeneous steady state of a confined granular gas

The nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and kinetic theory for a model of a confined quasi-two-dimensional gas of inelastic hard spheres is presented. The dynamics of the particles includes an effective mechanism to transfer the energy injected in the vertical direction to the horizontal degrees of freedom. The Enskog approximation is formulated and used as the basis to investigate the temperature and the distribution function of the steady state eventually reached by the system. An exact scaling of the distribution function of the system having implications on the form of its moments is pointed out. The theoretical predictions are compared with numerical results obtained by a particle simulation method, and a good agreement is found.España Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia Grant No. FIS2011-2446

Ethylene involvement in the regulation of the H\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e-ATPase \u3ci\u3eCsHA1\u3c/i\u3e gene and of the new isolated ferric reductase \u3ci\u3eCsFRO1\u3c/i\u3e and iron transporter \u3ci\u3eCsIRT1\u3c/i\u3e genes in cucumber plants

In previous works using ethylene inhibitors and precursors, it has been shown that ethylene participates in the regulation of several Fe-deficiency stress responses by Strategy I plants, such as enhanced ferric reductase activity, rhizosphere acidification, and subapical root hair development. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that ethylene could regulate the expression of both the ferric reductase and the iron transporter genes of Strategy I plants by affecting the FER (or FER-like) transcription factor. Recently, two H+-ATPase genes have been isolated from cucumber roots, CsHA1 and CsHA2. CsHA1 is up-regulated under Fe deficiency while CsHA2 is constitutively expressed. In this work we have cloned and characterized the sequences of the ferric reductase (CsFRO1) and the iron transporter (CsIRT1) genes from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv Ashley). Expression of CsHA1, CsFRO1, and CsIRT1 is diminished in Fe-deficient roots by treatment with ethylene inhibitors, such as Co (cobalt) or AOA (aminooxyacetic acid). Treatment with ethylene precursors, like ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) or Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid), resulted in increased CsHA1, CsFRO1, and CsIRT1 transcript levels and increased ferric reductase activity during early stages of Fe deficiency. These results suggest that ethylene is involved in the regulation of CsHA1, CsFRO1, and CsIRT1 gene expression