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

Commercial Devices-Based System Designed to Improve the Treatment Adherence of Hypertensive Patients

This paper presents an intelligent system designed to increase the treatment adherence of hypertensive patients. The architecture was developed to allow communication among patients, physicians, and families to determine each patient’s medication intake and self-monitoring of blood pressure rates. Concerning the medication schedule, the system is designed to follow a predefined prescription, adapting itself to undesired events, such as mistakenly taking medication or forgetting to take medication on time. When covering the blood pressure measurement, it incorporates best medical practices, registering the actual values in recommended frequency and form, trying to avoid the known “white-coat effect.” We assume that taking medicine precisely and measuring blood pressure correctly may lead to good adherence to the treatment. The system uses commercial consumer electronic devices and can be replicated in any home equipped with a standard personal computer and Internet access. The resulting architecture has four layers. The first is responsible for adding electronic devices that typically exist in today’s homes to the system. The second is a preprocessing layer that filters the data generated from the patient’s behavior. The third is a reasoning layer that decides how to act based on the patient’s activities observed. Finally, the fourth layer creates messages that should drive the reactions of all involved actors. The reasoning layer takes into consideration the patient’s schedule and medication-taking activity data and uses implicit algorithms based on the J48, RepTree, and RandomTree decision tree models to infer the adherence. The algorithms were first adjusted using one academic machine learning and data mining tool. The system communicates with users through smartphones (anytime and anywhere) and smart TVs (in the patient’s home) by using the 3G/4G and WiFi infrastructure. It interacts automatically through social networks with doctors and relatives when changes or mistakes in medication intake and blood pressure mean values are detected. By associating the blood pressure data with the history of medication intake, our system can indicate the treatment adherence and help patients to achieve better treatment results. Comparisons with similar research were made, highlighting our findings

Composição química, aspectos microbiológicos e nutricionais de geleias de carambola e de hibisco orgânicas

The aim of this study was to determine the proximate composition, nutritional facts and microbiological quality in processed jams of star fruit and Hibiscus from organic family farmers. It were evaluated the contents of moisture, proteins, lipids, ashes, total carbohydrates, caloric value, pH, total acidity and soluble solids in studied jams. It were also evaluated the nutritional facts and the quantification of yeasts and molds of studied products. Generally, the jams showed a higher caloric values related to carbohydrate and protein contents. According to legislation, the jams of star fruit and Hibiscus were classified as “source” fibers and as a “high source” of fibers, respectively. A edible portion (20 g) of star fruit Jam provided 2.73%, 4.5% and 9.4% of recommended daily intake of caloric, carbohydrates and fibers content, respectively, for a 2,000 Kcal diet. While for hibiscus, it was observed 1.27%, 2.1% and 12.6% of recommended daily intake for caloric, carbohydrate and fiber values, respectively. The sanitary quality of jams was in accordance to ANVISA.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a composição química, a informação nutricional e a qualidade microbiológica de geléias de carambola e de flores de hibisco orgânicas produzidas por agricultores familiares. Foram analisados os teores de umidade, proteínas, lipídeos, cinzas, fibras, fibras, carboidratos totais, valor calórico, além do pH, acidez total e dos sólidos solúveis (oBrix) das geléias estudadas. Também se determinou a informação nutricional e a contagem de bolores e leveduras dos produtos estudados. De forma geral, as geléias apresentaram valor calórico proveniente do teor de carboidratos e de proteínas.De acordo com a legislação, a geléia de carambola foi classificada como “fonte de fibra” e a de hibisco como alimento com “alto teor” deste nutriente.O consumo uma porção (20 g) da geléia de carambola foi suficiente para fornecer 2,73%, 4,5% e 9,4% do valor diário recomendado (VDR) de calorias, carboidratos e fibras, respectivamente para uma dieta de 2000 Kcal. Já o consumo da mesma porção de geléia de hibisco forneceu 1,27% do VDR para calorias, 2,1% do VDR para carboidratos e 12,6% do VDR para fibras. As geléias encontravam-se dentro dos padrões de qualidade sanitária exigido pela Legislação

Composição química, aspectos microbiológicos e nutricionais de geléias de carambola e de hibisco orgânicas

The aim of this study was to determine the proximate composition, nutritional facts and microbiological quality in processed jams of star fruit and Hibiscus from organic family farmers. It were evaluated the contents of moisture, proteins, lipids, ashes, total carbohydrates, caloric value, pH, total acidity and soluble solids in studied jams. It were also evaluated the nutritional facts and the quantification of yeasts and molds of studied products. Generally, the jams showed a higher caloric values related to carbohydrate and protein contents. According to legislation, the jams of star fruit and Hibiscus were classified as “source” fibers and as a “high source” of fibers, respectively. A edible portion (20 g) of star fruit Jam provided 2.73%, 4.5% and 9.4% of recommended daily intake of caloric, carbohydrates and fibers content, respectively, for a 2,000 Kcal diet. While for hibiscus, it was observed 1.27%, 2.1% and 12.6% of recommended daily intake for caloric, carbohydrate and fiber values, respectively. The sanitary quality of jams was in accordance to ANVISA.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a composição química, a informação nutricional e a qualidade microbiológica de geléias de carambola e de flores de hibisco orgânicas produzidas por agricultores familiares. Foram analisados os teores de umidade, proteínas, lipídeos, cinzas, fibras, fibras, carboidratos totais, valor calórico, além do pH, acidez total e dos sólidos solúveis (oBrix) das geléias estudadas. Também se determinou a informação nutricional e a contagem de bolores e leveduras dos produtos estudados. De forma geral, as geléias apresentaram valor calórico proveniente do teor de carboidratos e de proteínas.De acordo com a legislação, a geléia de carambola foi classificada como “fonte de fibra” e a de hibisco como alimento com “alto teor” deste nutriente.O consumo uma porção (20 g) da geléia de carambola foi suficiente para fornecer 2,73%, 4,5% e 9,4% do valor diário recomendado (VDR) de calorias, carboidratos e fibras, respectivamente para uma dieta de 2000 Kcal. Já o consumo da mesma porção de geléia de hibisco forneceu 1,27% do VDR para calorias, 2,1% do VDR para carboidratos e 12,6% do VDR para fibras. As geléias encontravam-se dentro dos padrões de qualidade sanitária exigido pela Legislação

Caracterização química e informação nutricional de geléia de pimenta Cambuci orgânica, Capsicum baccatum L.

The aim of this study was to determine the proximate food composition and nutritional facts in processed jam of Cambuci pepper subjected to organic cropping system in the Agroecological Production Integrated System (SIPA), Seropédica, RJ, in the 2nd half of 2010. The processed and fresh products were analyzed for moisture, protein, lipid, ash, total and reducing carbohydrates, pH, total acidity and total soluble solids (oBrix). The fresh Cambuci peppers presented 89.60% of moisture, 0.14% of ash, 0.14% of lipids, 0.95% of proteins, 9.50% of total carbohydrates, acidity 4% (citric acid), soluble solids of 7.3oBrix, reducing sugar content of 5.9% and pH of 5.14. The jam showed values of protein (1.61 %), total carbohydrates (55.65%), reducing sugars (7.48%), soluble solids (58oBrix) content and pH (4.83) and lower values of moisture (42.53%), lipids (0%) and acid content (0.36%). The nutrition facts of obtained jam were 40.6 Kcal of caloric value and 11.13 g of carbohydrates per portion (20 grams), i.e. 10 and 4% of their dietary reference intakes (DRI), respectively.O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar as características físico-químicas, a composição centesimal e informação nutricional de pimenta orgânica in natura e de sua geléia como alternativa para geração de renda para a Agricultura Familiar. As pimentas submetidas ao sistema de cultivo orgânico foram obtidas no Sistema Integrado de Pesquisa em Produção Agroecológica (S.I.P.A) - Fazendinha Agroecológica, localizada no Município de Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, no 2° semestre de 2010. Foram analisados os teores de umidade, proteínas, lipídeos, cinzas, carboidratos totais e redutores, além do pH, acidez total e dos sólidos solúveis (oBrix) da pimenta in natura e de sua geléia. A pimenta in natura apresentou 89,60% de umidade, 0,14% de cinzas, 0,14% de lipídeos, 0,95% de proteínas, 9,10% de carboidratos totais e teor de açúcares redutores de 5,90%, além de pH de 5,14, acidez de 4% e oBrix de 7,3. A geléia de pimenta Cambuci apresentou teores de proteína (1,61%), carboidratos totais (55,05%), açúcares redutores (7,48%), pH (4,83) e 58°Brix. A informação nutricional da geléia de pimenta apresentou o valor energético de 40,6Kcal e 11,13 g de carboidratos por porção (20g), correspondendo a 10% e 4% de seus valores diários de referência (VDR), respectivamente

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)