Identificação de Faces em Imagens Bidimensionais

O objetivo deste trabalho é a realização de um estudo a respeito das técnicas de Biometria mais conhecidas e pesquisadas atualmente, suas aplicações e características, como confiabilidade e eficiência. Além disso, apresenta-se também a sua maturidade em âmbito internacional. O foco central do trabalho é o desenvolvimento de uma aplicação que faça a identificação de faces em imagens bidimensionais, que é considerada uma das técnicas de Biometria mais promissoras para o reconhecimento de pessoas à distância, sem contato físico e em meio a outras. Para isso, o sistema contempla as etapas de aquisição e tratamento da imagem, bem como a de identificação (localização) das faces na imagem. O trabalho apresenta ainda a modelagem do sistema e o estágio de desenvolvimento atual

Vertical Distribution of Leaves and Stems on the Sward and Forage Intake by Lambs in Tifton-85 Pasture

Sward characteristics affect the performance of grazing livestock, especially for the youngest animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the vertical distribution of leaves and stems on the sward and the forage intake parameters of lambs in four sheep meat production systems grazing a Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) cv. Tifton-85 pasture

Efeito da densidade de população sobre os teores de carboidratos solúveis e ácido ascórbico de repolho (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

Cabbage (Brassica olcracea CV. capitata) samples from 20.833, 25.641, 37.037, 55.555 and 111.111 plants/ha densities were analysed on ascorbic acid and soluble carbohydrates contents. Statistically differences were not observed between those levels and plant densities. The mean level ascorbic acid was 25.8 mg/100 g on fresh weight. The principal constituents of soluble carbohydrates fraction were sucrose, glucose and fructose. These sugars were represented by 80% of total soluble carbohydrates. The mean values of soluble carbohydrates on fresh weight basis, were total (4.60), sucrose (0.45), glucose (1.94) and fructose (1.83).Amostras de repolho (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) de densidade de 20.833, 25.641, 37.037, 55.555 e 111.111 plantas/ha foram analisadas quanto aos teores de ácido ascórbico e carboidratos solúveis. Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre estes teores nas densidades de população utilizadas. O teor médio de ácido ascórbico foi 25,8 mg/100 g peso fresco. Os principais constituintes da fração carboidratos solúveis foram sacarose, glucose e frutose, perfazendo acima de 80% do total. Os teores médios de carboidratos solúveis, expressos em g/100 g de peso fresco foram os seguintes carboidratos solúveis totais (4,60), sacarose (0,45), glucose (1,94) e frutose (1,83)

Serovar-dependent differences in Hfq-regulated phenotypes in actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

The RNA chaperone Hfq regulates diverse processes in numerous bacteria. In this study, we compared phenotypes (growth rate, adherence, response to different stress conditions, and virulence in Galleria mellonella) of wild-type (WT) and isogenic hfq mutants of three serovars (1, 8 and 15) of the porcine pathogen A. pleuropneumoniae. Similar growth in rich broth was seen for all strains except Ap1∆hfq, which showed slightly reduced growth throughout the 24 hour time course, and the complemented Ap8∆hfqC mutant had a prolonged lag phase. Differences were seen between the three serovar WT strains regarding adherence, stress response and virulence in G. mellonella, and deletion of hfq affected some, but not all of these phenotypes, depending on serovar. Complementation by expression of cloned hfq from an endogenous promoter only restored some WT phenotypes, indicating that complex regulatory networks may be involved, and that levels of Hfq may be as important as presence/absence of the protein regarding its contribution to gene regulation. Our results support that Hfq is a pleiotropic global regulator in A. pleuropneumoniae, but serovar-related differences exist. These results highlight the importance of testing multiple strains/serovars within a given species when determining contributions of global regulators, such as Hfq, to expression of complex phenotypes

No-match ORESTES explored as tumor markers

Sequencing technologies and new bioinformatics tools have led to the complete sequencing of various genomes. However, information regarding the human transcriptome and its annotation is yet to be completed. The Human Cancer Genome Project, using ORESTES (open reading frame EST sequences) methodology, contributed to this objective by generating data from about 1.2 million expressed sequence tags. Approximately 30% of these sequences did not align to ESTs in the public databases and were considered no-match ORESTES. On the basis that a set of these ESTs could represent new transcripts, we constructed a cDNA microarray. This platform was used to hybridize against 12 different normal or tumor tissues. We identified 3421 transcribed regions not associated with annotated transcripts, representing 83.3% of the platform. The total number of differentially expressed sequences was 1007. Also, 28% of analyzed sequences could represent noncoding RNAs. Our data reinforces the knowledge of the human genome being pervasively transcribed, and point out molecular marker candidates for different cancers. To reinforce our data, we confirmed, by real-time PCR, the differential expression of three out of eight potentially tumor markers in prostate tissues. Lists of 1007 differentially expressed sequences, and the 291 potentially noncoding tumor markers were provided

No-match ORESTES explored as tumor markers

Sequencing technologies and new bioinformatics tools have led to the complete sequencing of various genomes. However, information regarding the human transcriptome and its annotation is yet to be completed. The Human Cancer Genome Project, using ORESTES (open reading frame EST sequences) methodology, contributed to this objective by generating data from about 1.2 million expressed sequence tags. Approximately 30% of these sequences did not align to ESTs in the public databases and were considered no-match ORESTES. On the basis that a set of these ESTs could represent new transcripts, we constructed a cDNA microarray. This platform was used to hybridize against 12 different normal or tumor tissues. We identified 3421 transcribed regions not associated with annotated transcripts, representing 83.3% of the platform. The total number of differentially expressed sequences was 1007. Also, 28% of analyzed sequences could represent noncoding RNAs. Our data reinforces the knowledge of the human genome being pervasively transcribed, and point out molecular marker candidates for different cancers. To reinforce our data, we confirmed, by real-time PCR, the differential expression of three out of eight potentially tumor markers in prostate tissues. Lists of 1007 differentially expressed sequences, and the 291 potentially noncoding tumor markers were provided

Lipid-polymeric films: composition, production and applications in wound healing and skin repair

The use of lipids in the composition of polymeric-based films for topical administration of bioactive ingredients is a recent research topic; while few products are commercially available, films containing lipids represent a strategic area for the development of new products. Some lipids are usually used in polymeric-based film formulations due to their plasticizing action, with a view to improving the mechanical properties of these films. On the other hand, many lipids have healing, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging properties, among others, that make them even more interesting for application in the medical-pharmaceutical field. This manuscript discusses the production methods of these films both on a laboratory and at industrial scales, the properties of the developed biopolymers, and their advantages for the development of dermatologic and cosmetic products.This research was funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE), under the project reference UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cuidados na gestação, pós-parto e com bebês pelas mulheres do povoado de Pedra Branca, Santa Terezinha, Bahia

This present article records how women who live in a village from the interior of Bahia State, northeastern Brazil, perceive and deal with the care they are supposed to receive during their pregnancy, in the post-delivery period, and with new-born babies. Fieldwork was carried out by students in the Ethnobiology program of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana. They performed open-ended interviews with seven female inhabitants of the village of Pedra Branca in May 2004. The interviewees’ ages ranged from 18 to 60 years. Local obstetric knowledge and practices, as well as those concerning the care for babies were contrasted with information from the academic literature. It was observed that, although traditional practices have been transmitted from generation to generation, younger women of this community do not give the same importance to these folk knowledge as the more experienced women do.O presente artigo registra como as mulheres que vivem em um povoado do interior do estado da Bahia, nordeste do Brasil, percebem e lidam com os cuidados que devem ter durante a gravidez, no período pós-parto e com os recém-nascidos. O trabalho de campo foi conduzido por alunos da disciplina Etnobiologia da Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, que realizaram entrevistas semi-estruturadas com sete moradoras do povoado de Pedra Branca, em maio de 2004. As mulheres entrevistadas tinham idades entre 18 e 60 anos. Os conhecimentos e práticas obstétricas locais e com relação aos cuidados com os bebês foram contrastados com informações da literatura acadêmica pertinente. Foi observado que as mulheres mais jovens da comunidade cada vez mais dão menos importância às práticas tradicionais transmitidas pelas mulheres mais experientes

Novel and powerful 3D adaptive crisp active contour method applied in the segmentation of CT lung images

The World Health Organization estimates that 300 million people have asthma, 210 million people haveChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and, according to WHO, COPD will become the third majorcause of death worldwide in 2030. Computational Vision systems are commonly used in pulmonologyto address the task of image segmentation, which is essential for accurate medical diagnoses. Segmentationdefines the regions of the lungs in CT images of the thorax that must be further analyzed bythe system or by a specialist physician. This work proposes a novel and powerful technique named 3DAdaptive Crisp Active Contour Method (3D ACACM) for the segmentation of CT lung images. The methodstarts with a sphere within the lung to be segmented that is deformed by forces acting on it towardsthe lung borders. This process is performed iteratively in order to minimize an energy function associatedwith the 3D deformable model used. In the experimental assessment, the 3D ACACM is comparedagainst three approaches commonly used in this field: the automatic 3D Region Growing, the level-setalgorithm based on coherent propagation and the semi-automatic segmentation by an expert using the3D OsiriX toolbox. When applied to 40 CT scans of the chest the 3D ACACM had an average F-measureof 99.22%, revealing its superiority and competency to segment lungs in CT images

Programa para cálculo da condutividade hidráulica do solo por meio de experimentos de drenagem interna

A software for the calculation of unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity K(theta) is presented for commonly used methods found in the literature, based on field experiments in which a soil profile is submitted to water infiltration followed by internal drainage. The software is available at: [email protected].É apresentado neste trabalho um programa para cálculo da condutividade hidráulica do solo não saturado K(teta) para métodos da literatura mais utilizados, baseados em experimentos de campo nos quais o perfil de solo é submetido à infiltração de água, seguida da drenagem interna. O programa é disponibilizado por: [email protected]