The users centered design of a new digital fluorometer

The fluorometer is the equipment used in chemical analysis laboratories, research institutes and nuclear fuel cycle companies. This equipment measures an unknown amount of uranium in ores, rivers, etc. The fluorometer functioning is based on the uranium fluorescence when submitted to the ultraviolet radiation incidence. The fluorescence is measured by an electronic optic system with optics filters, photomultiplier tube, and a current amplifier. The user centered design involvers the user in the product development in all phases of the design process. Users are not simply consulted at the beginning of the design process and evaluated the system at the end; they are treated as partners throughout the design process. The user centered design emphasizes the needs and abilities of the users and improves the usability of the equipment. The activity centered design emphasizes the development of the equipment with a deep understanding of the users activities and of the current work practices of the users. The aim of this paper is to present a methodological framework that contributes to the design and evaluation of a new digital fluorometer towards an approach related to the users and their activities. This methodological framework includes users-based testing, interviews, questionnaires, human factors standards and guidelines, the users activity analysis and users satisfaction questionnaire

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Cálculo de blindagem para instalações de radioterapia por raios X com auxílio de computador

Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para cálculos de blindagem de raios X em instalações de radioterapia com auxílio de computador. O trabalho consistiu no desenvolvimento de um programa amigável em Delphi, que através da entrada manual de dados de um projeto básico de arquitetura e de alguns parâmetros (como carga de trabalho, tensão máxima do equipamento e outros), interpreta a geometria e calcula as blindagens das paredes, chão e teto de uma instalação de radioterapia por raios X. Como produto final, este programa fornece uma tela gráfica do computador com todos os dados de entrada e o cálculo das blindagens, além a respectiva memória de cálculo . O programa verificou-se ser amigável, rápido e com resultados confiáveis, podendo ser aplicado na execução prática de projetos de blindagem de instalações de radioterapia por raios X

Automação do sistema de transporte de núcleos de recuo por jato de hélio

Para automatizar o sistema de transporte de núcleos de recuo por jato de hélio foi desenvolvido um código de computação e construída uma placa de interface para serem usados num microcomputador pessoal IBM ou qualquer outro compatível. O código foi feito para atuar com as placas multicanal Spectrum-ACE / ADCAM da ORTEC. A placa de interface usa a porta hexadecimal 03EFh para comandar a troca de amostras. Este sitema permite medir, por spectrometria gama, radionuclídeos de meias-vidas da ordem de segundos produzidos em reações nucleares