Innovations in cryoconservation of animal genetic resources: SECTION 4 The economics of gene banking:Animal Production and Health Guideline

The livestock sector faces a range of challenges, including climate change, emerging diseases, competition for natural resources and evolving demand for animal-source foods, which is increasing globally, especially in developing countries. Genetic diversity of livestock is a key resource for allowing livestock keepers to address these challenges, but this diversity has been in a state of decline. The diminishing genetic diversity thus represents yet another obstacle for sustainable livestock production. Cryoconservation (i.e. ex situ – in vitro conservation) of genetic resources through gene banking provides one of the most powerful tools governments and other stakeholders have to manage genetic diversity in both the short and long term and thereby provide future generations with the tools to meet the challenges ahead.Gene banking genetic resources fits within the context of the Global Plan of Action forAnimal Genetic Resources, which was developed and adopted by FAO Member Nations.Specifically, Strategic Priority 9 of the Global Plan of Action is “Establish or strengthen ex situ conservation programmes” and Strategic Priority 11 urges countries to “Develop approaches and technical standards for conservation. To assist countries in the implementation the Global Plan of Action, FAO worked with experts from around the world to prepare technical guidelines. In 2012 FAO published FAO Guidelines on Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources.Gene banking is a long-term effort that needs to be viewed in terms of decades rather than years, as demonstrated by similar systems for agricultural crops. The responsibility for establishing such resources lies squarely within governments’ roles of providing public goods and food security. Gene banking of animal genetic resources is a technology-intense undertaking and the associated technologies are in a continual state of research and development. The livestock sector also continues to evolve rapidly. Since the development and release of the previous guidelines, numerous changes have taken place. Critical among these is a greater appreciation of the opportunities for actively utilizing cryopreserved material to enhance management of in vivo populations, rather than as simply an “insurance policy” to protect breeds against extinction.This key development has led to further changes in gene bank management. First, interaction with users of the stored material has increased. This in turn has created a need to involve stakeholders more closely in the management of genetic collections and to better monitor and document the processes of gene banking to ensure quality management.Measures have been developed to help ensure high health and sanitary standards. New models and methods have been proposed for utilization of collections in the management of genetic diversity in vivo. Greater potential demand for stored material has also increased the need for expanded procedures and legal instruments, in some instances, to ensur

Educação estética em Marcuse: avaliação em Filosofia para além do textual

The dissertation presents the development and result of a theoretical-practical research that appropriates the reflections of the philosopher Herbert Marcuse on the aesthetic dimension to think interdisciplinary didactic-pedagogical activities, more specifically, those directed to the evaluation in Teaching Philosophy. The practice of teaching in the classroom was based on a methodology of Philosophy Teaching that stimulated criticism, in the framework of the Critical Theory of Society, although the fulcrum of the research was what we call “aesthetic evaluation”, a way of evaluating that it stimulated a process of teaching and learning philosophy in na alternative form – singing, painting, photographing, etc. -, without running away from reading and text and philosophical themes and problems dealt with in the History of Philosophy. The objective was to verify to what extent the aesthetic evaluations, that use artistic parameters, can contribute in a formative process. The interventions took place in 2017 with four 1st year classes of high school, from Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Tocantins (IFTO/Campus Palmas). About 120 students took part in the research, in a context in which two weekly classes, with fifty minutes each, served to apply the interventions. The aesthetic evaluations related Philosophy and Arts starting from art as reflection for the textual production and, in most cases, the philosophical text for artistic production. The students were led to produce philosophical texts interpreting artistic forms but, above all, they were instigated to present different artistic expressions of philosophical themes treated in the classroom. The qualitative research followed the methodological assumptions of Critical Theory to highlight the contradictions in the process of contemporary educational formation and, more specifically, the evaluation in Philosophy, trying to bring the syntheses from a theoretical investigation that merges with the interpretation of the contents present in the students’ productions. The analysis and interpretation of the data have brought important indicatives to this methodology of Philosophy Teaching and to the process of evaluation, namely, that the practice of interdisciplinary in Teaching Philosophy with Arts is an indispensable alternative in the critical process of teaching and learning, as well as presenting a way of evaluating the value of students’ philosophical and artistic productions.A dissertação apresenta o desenvolvimento e o resultado de uma pesquisa teórico-prática que se apropria das reflexões do filósofo Herbert Marcuse sobre a dimensão estética para pensar atividades didático-pedagógicas interdisciplinares, mais especificamente, aquelas direcionadas para a avaliação no Ensino de Filosofia. A prática de ensino em sala de aula se pautou em uma metodologia do Ensino de Filosofia que estimulou a crítica, nos moldes da Teoria Crítica da Sociedade, embora o fulcro da pesquisa tenha sido o que denominamos “avaliação estética”, uma forma de avaliar que estimulou um processo de ensino e aprendizagem em filosofia de forma alternativa - cantando, pintando, fotografando etc. -, sem fugir da leitura e do texto e dos temas e problemas filosóficos tratados na História da Filosofia. O objetivo foi verificar em que medida as avaliações estéticas, que utilizam parâmetros artísticos, podem contribuir no processo formativo. As intervenções ocorreram em 2017 com quatro turmas de 1° ano do Ensino Médio, do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Tocantins (IFTO/Campus Palmas). Cerca de 120 estudantes participaram da pesquisa, num contexto em que duas aulas semanais, com cinquenta minutos cada, serviram para aplicação das intervenções. As avaliações estéticas relacionaram Filosofia e Artes partindo ora da arte como reflexão para a produção textual e, na maioria das vezes, do texto filosófico para a produção artística. Os estudantes foram levados a produzir textos filosóficos interpretando formas artísticas, mas, sobretudo, foram instigados a apresentar diferentes expressões artísticas sobre os temas filosóficos tratados em sala de aula. A pesquisa qualitativa seguiu os pressupostos metodológicos da Teoria Crítica para evidenciar as contradições no processo de formação educacional contemporânea e, mais especificamente, da avaliação em Filosofia, procurando trazer as sínteses a partir de uma investigação teórica que se funde com a interpretação dos conteúdos presentes nas produções dos estudantes. A análise e a interpretação dos dados trouxeram indicativos relevantes para essa metodologia do Ensino de Filosofia e para o processo de avaliação, a saber, que a prática da interdisciplinaridade no Ensino de Filosofia com as Artes se constitui uma alternativa indispensável no processo crítico de ensino e aprendizagem, além de apresentar uma forma de avaliar que valoriza a produção filosófica e artística dos estudantes

On the use of Lagrange Multiplier State-Space Substructuring in dynamic substructuring analysis

In this article, the formulation of Lagrange Multiplier State-Space Substructuring (LM-SSS) is presented and extended to directly compute coupled displacement and velocity state-space models. The LM-SSS method is applied to couple and decouple state-space models established in the modal domain. Moreover, it is used together with tailored postprocessing procedures to eliminate the redundant states originated from the coupling and decoupling operations. This specific formulation of the LM-SSS approach made it possible to develop a tailored coupling form, named Unconstrained Coupling Form (UCF). UCF just requires the computation of a nullspace and does not rely on the selection of a subspace from a nullspace. By exploiting a numerical example, LM-SSS was compared with the Lagrange Multiplier Frequency Based Substructuring (LMFBS) approach, which is currently widely recognized as a reference approach. This was done both in terms of: a)coupled FRFs derived by coupling the state-space models of two substructures and b) decoupled FRFs derived by decoupling the state-space model of a component from the coupled model. LM-SSS showed to be suitable to compute minimal order coupled models and UCF turned out to have similar performance as other coupling forms already presented to the scientific community. As for the decoupling task, the FRFs derived from the LM-SSS approach perfectly matched those obtained by LM-FBS. Moreover, it was also demonstrated that the elimination of the redundant states originated from the decoupling operation was correctly performed. The approaches discussed were exploited on an experimental substructuring application. LM-SSS resulted to be a reliable SSS technique to perform coupling and decoupling operations with state-space models estimated from measured FRFs as well as to provide accurate minimal-order models

Gestão e análise de informação de múltiplas fontes de dados

O Business Intelligence era tradicionalmente uma especialidade explorada fundamentalmente por profissionais da gestão de dados de TI, matemáticos e estatísticos. A tendência é agora, e cada vez mais, a descentralização do acesso e da análise de dados em toda a organização, havendo cada vez mais empresas a reconhecer o Business Intelligence como uma componente ao serviço da estratégica. Este trabalho visa testar uma abordagem de Business Intelligence no desenvolvimento de um sistema de analytics de auxílio à gestão e análise de informação de múltiplas fontes de dados no meio empresarial. De forma a desenvolver o sistema de analytics, este projeto utilizou como caso de estudo a informação retirada de duas fontes distintas de dados de uma empresa que fabricava e vendia bicicletas, peças e acessórios. O design metodológico da investigação foi suportado pela abordagem CRISP-DM, tradicional na construção de um sistema de analytics que, neste caso, recorreu especialmente ao Power BI. No processo de preparação das duas bases de dados estruturadas foi necessária a utilização das ferramentas SQL Server Management, DAX e Excel. Como recurso de apoio ao Business Intelligence, foi concebida uma dashboard interativa com várias páginas, de forma a simular o potencial de gestão do Power BI nas diversas vertentes da empresa, tendo sido exploradas técnicas descritivas e prescritivas para a análise dos dados. Atendendo às diversas vertentes exploradas, ficou comprovado o grande potencial do Power BI como ferramenta de suporte ao Business Intelligence, quer na perspetiva económica quer na perspetiva analytics.Business Intelligence was traditionally a specialty explored primarily by professionals in IT data management, mathematicians and statisticians. The trend is now, and increasingly, the decentralization of access and data analysis across the organization, with more and more companies recognizing Business Intelligence as a component at the service of strategy. This work aims to test a Business Intelligence approach in the development of an analytics system to aid the management and analysis of information from multiple data sources in the business environment. In order to develop the analytics system, this project used as a case study the information taken from two different sources of data from a company that manufactured and sold bicycles, parts and accessories. The methodological design of the investigation was supported by the CRISP-DM approach, traditional in the construction of an analytics system that, in this case, resorted especially to Power BI. In the process of preparing the two structured databases, it was necessary to use the tools SQL Server Management, DAX and Excel. As a resource to support Business Intelligence, an interactive dashboard with several pages was designed in order to simulate the management potential of Power BI in the different aspects of the company, and descriptive and prescriptive techniques for data analysis were explored. Attending to the various aspects explored, the great potential of Power BI as a tool to support Business Intelligence was proven, both from an economic perspective and from an analytics perspective

Avaliação da importância ecológica e biotecnológica de 10 MAGs do filo Latescibacterota recuperados do microbioma de esponjas do recife Amazonas

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Biologia Molecular, 2022.As esponjas e seus organismos associados possuem grande importância no ambiente marinho, atuando em diversos processos ecológicos. Eles ainda são uma fonte relevante de compostos bioativos que podem ser explorados biotecnologicamente. O Recife Amazonas é uma região peculiar que abriga enorme diversidade de seres vivos. O local é marcado pela vazão de água e sedimentos vindos do Rio Amazonas, formando uma pluma de sedimentos que impacta parâmetros físico-químicos e os organismos habitantes. Tendo isso em mente, foi feita a análise, através de métodos de bioinformática, de aspectos genéticos e metabólicos de 10 MAGs oriundos da microbiota de esponjas do Recife Amazonas com o intuito de saber sobre as possíveis contribuições desses microrganismos para o ecossistema e o hospedeiro e sobre a possibilidade de uso biotecnológico. O projeto iniciou com a coleta de amostras de tecido de esponjas do recife, seguida pela extração e sequenciamento do DNA metagenômico. A partir dele, foram recuperados mais de 200 MAGs de boa qualidade, sendo escolhidos 10, com base em classificações preliminares, para análise mais detalhada. Em seguida, foram desenvolvidos os seguintes procedimentos in silico: determinação da qualidade dos genomas e da similaridade entre eles, definição da taxonomia, reconstrução metabólica e busca por compostos bioativos. Todos os MAGs apresentaram qualidade entre média e alta, com contaminação abaixo de 10% e completude acima de 70%. Valores de ANI e dDDH indicam que dois pares de MAGs provavelmente pertencem à mesma espécie. Além disso, os MAGs foram classificados no mesmo filo, Latescibacterota, e classe, UBA2968. A reconstrução metabólica demonstrou a presença de genes relacionados à heterotrofia, com processos aeróbicos e anaeróbicos para obtenção de energia. A identificação de genes envolvidos nas vias de biorremediação e nos ciclos do nitrogênio, enxofre e fósforo mostram possíveis contribuições para o recife. Genes ligados à síntese de nutrientes e outros produtos úteis, à desintoxicação de metais pesados, e à defesa química foram encontrados, indicando possíveis benefícios ao hospedeiro. Do ponto de vista biotecnológico, os MAGs contêm alguns genes ligados à produção de metabólitos secundários e que codificam enzimas de interesse comercial e industrial. Também foram identificados peptídeos bioativos que possuem diversas propriedades. Assim, esse trabalho mostrou possíveis papéis desses microrganismos no recife, possíveis benefícios às esponjas, além de formas de exploração biotecnológica.Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAP/DF); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).Sponges and their associated organisms have significant importance in the ocean due to their role in many ecological processes. They also are a relevant source of bioactive compounds which can be explored biotechnologically. The Amazon Reef is a peculiar area that hosts a huge diversity of species. This place is characterized by the leakage of water and sediments from the Amazon River, generating a plume of sediments that impacts physical-chemical parameters and living organisms. Having this in mind, an analysis of genetic and metabolic features of 10 MAGs derived from Amazon Reef sponges’ microbiome, through bioinformatics methods. The main objective was to show possible contributions these microorganisms might give to the ecosystem and its host and discover possible biotechnology uses. The project began with reef sponge tissue collection, followed by DNA extraction and sequencing. Over 200 MAGs of good quality were recovered from the metagenomic DNA. 10 of those MAGs were selected for more detailed analyses based on preliminary classifications. Then the following procedures were executed: definition of genomes quality and their similarity, taxonomic classification, metabolic reconstruction, and search for bioactive compounds. All MAGs presented quality between average and high. Contamination was lower than 10%, and completeness was higher than 10%. ANI and dDDH results indicate that two pairs of MAGs probably belong to the same species. Besides, MAGs were taxonomically assigned in the same phylum, Latescibacterota, and class, UBA2968. Metabolic reconstruction demonstrated the presence of genes related to heterotrophy with both aerobic and anaerobic processes for energy acquisition. Identification of genes involved in bioremediation pathways and nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycles show possible contributions to the reef. Genes related to the synthesis of essential nutrients and other useful products, heavy metals detox and chemical defense were also found, indicating possible benefits for the host. From a biotechnological point of view, MAGs have some genes linked to secondary metabolite production while others generate commercial and industrial enzymes. Biologically active peptides with distinct properties were identified as well. Therefore, this work shows possible roles for these microorganisms on the reef along with possible benefits for the sponges. They could also be biotechnologically explored in diverse ways