The relationship between high inflation and output in Brazil from 1975 to 2002

Includes bibliographical references.The macroeconomic policies undertaken by Brazilian policymakers during the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s—namely high growth of money supply, huge budget deficits, and the excessive use of inflation tax—created an inflation crisis comparable to Germany’s hyperinflationary period. Consequently, the effects of high inflation on different Brazilian economic variables have become interesting and challenging subjects to macroeconomists. This paper attempts to describe the effect of high inflation on output in Brazil between 1975 and 2002. By running a simple linear regression model, I find that, unlike many other studies, there is a positive relationship between inflation and output in Brazil during this period. More specifically, the results suggest that a 1% increase in average inflation produces a 0.0066% increase in output. This result is possible due to the Brazilian government’s use of inflation to promote growth (Tobin Effect). Furthermore, this action by the government is responsible for the enormous income inequality found in Brazil.B.S. (Bachelor of Science

Databases Reduction Simultaneously by Ordered Projection

In this paper, a new algorithm Database Reduction Simulta neously by Ordered Projections (RESOP) is introduced. This algorithm reduces databases in two directions: editing examples and feature se lection simultaneously. Ordered projections techniques have been used to design RESOP taking advantage of symmetrical ideas for two dif ferent task. Experimental results have been made with UCI Repository databases and the performance for the latter application of classification techniques has been satisfactor

Real time mass classification for mammographic images: a Driven CADx scheme

Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CADx) schemes have been proposed to serve as a supplementary image analysis tool in mammography. Experienced radiologists tend to be more assertive to such schemes in assisting their interpretation rather than solely relying on their ability to detect suspicious signals. This study focuses on a simplified version of a previously developed mammography CADx scheme, which was initially designed for digitized film, but is now specifically aimed at classifying breast nodules marked as regions of interest on digital images. This “driven” CADx scheme provides prompt indications regarding whether the selected nodule is deemed normal or suspicious. Its performance was evaluated through tests conducted on different mammograms sets – one with large number of images selected from DDSM database for training, testing and validation of classification parameters, and other comprising direct digital images from InBreast database. Remarkably, similar rates were observed for sensitivity, specificity and accuracy across these two sets (83%, 67% and 72%, respectively). The classification attributes were associated to contour, density and texture. Furthermore, a third test was conducted involving radiologists analyzing digital mammograms obtained from a specific full field digital mammography (FFDM) unit. Results showed that the Driven CADx scheme positively influenced the final diagnoses made by 3 radiologists, consistently increasing accuracy rates. This promising result allows establishing this software as a valuable tool for radiologists in the analysis of masses in digital mammography. The scheme can be implemented on any operating system, or even accessed online.&nbsp

Atividades de divulgação científica sobre exoplanetas

Resumo: Este trabalho investigou os resultados e impactos de atividades de divulgação científica sobre a ciência dos exoplanetas, ocorridas em 2018, junto a alunos de quatro escolas de educação básica situadas em municípios do litoral norte paulista. Essas ações permitiram que os alunos adquirissem melhor compreensão acerca dos conceitos apresentados sobre exoplanetas e procuraram incentivar o aprofundamento no estudo de áreas da astronomia. Para a elaboração das apresentações estudou-se tanto o estado atual dos conhecimentos científicos sobre exoplanetas, quanto o modo como o trabalho didático com temas de astronomia pode ser efetuado a alunos dos ensinos fundamental e médio. Nas apresentações foram usados diferentes recursos que procuraram tornar mais compreensíveis os conceitos científicos envolvidos e as técnicas de detecção de exoplanetas. Em particular, considerou-se o caráter interdisciplinar da ciência dos exoplanetas, bem como, conhecimentos relacionados à história da astronomia.Palavras-chave: Astronomia; Ensino de Física; Divulgação da Ciência; Detecção de Exoplanetas. Scientific dissemination activities on exoplanetsAbstract: This work investigated the results and impacts of scientific dissemination activities on the science of exoplanets, which took place in 2018, with students from four schools of basic education located in municipalities on the north coast of São Paulo. These actions allowed students to gain a better understanding of the concepts presented about exoplanets and sought to encourage further study in areas of astronomy. For the elaboration of the presentations, it was studied both the current state of the existing scientific knowledge about exoplanets, as well as the way the didactic work with astronomy themes can be carried out with elementary and high school students. In the presentations, different resources were used to make the scientific concepts involved and the techniques for detecting exoplanets more understandable. In particular, the presentations considered the interdisciplinary nature of the science of exoplanets, as well as knowledge related to the history of astronomy.Keywords: Astronomy; Physics Teaching; Dissemination of Science; Exoplanet Detection.

The GTPase TcRjl of the human pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi is involved in the cell growth and differentiation

AbstractThe protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas Disease, undergoes through a complex life cycle where rounds of cell division and differentiation occur initially in the gut of triatominae vectors and, after transmission, inside of infected cells in vertebrate hosts. Members of the Ras superfamily of GTPases are molecular switches which play pivotal regulatory functions in cell growth and differentiation. We have previously described a novel GTPase in T. cruzi, TcRjl, which belongs to the RJL family of Ras-related GTP binding proteins. Here we show that most of TcRjl protein is found bound to GTP nucleotides and may be locked in this stage. In addition, we show that TcRjl is located close to the kinetoplast, in a region corresponding possibly to flagellar pocket of the parasite and the expression of a dominant-negative TcRjl construct (TcRjlS37N) displays a significative growth phenotype in reduced serum medium. Remarkably, overexpression of TcRjl inhibits differentiation of epimastigotes to trypomastigote forms and promotes the accumulation of intermediate differentiation stages. Our data suggest that TcRjl might play a role in the control of the parasite growth and differentiation

Massa muscular em militares da reserva: comparação de variáveis musculares e composição corporal

The aging process leads to the body’s difficulty in maintaining its homeostatic balance and this, under circumstances of functional overload, generates deficits in some body systems, which may evolve with impairment of certain functions, especially due to the loss of muscle mass. Objective: to identify if there is a relationship between physical activity and skeletal muscle mass and body composition of reserve military personnel. Methods: this is a descriptive, comparative and retrospective study, in which 33 reserve military personnel were evaluated, divided into two groups who practice physical activity and non-practitioners. The instruments used were: lifestyle questionnaire, stadiometer attached to the scale, anthropometric tape and bioimpedance equipment. From these instruments, demographic variables, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass, body mass index, fat percentage and skeletal muscle index were obtained. Results: The average age of the study participants was 58.4 years, most of whom were engaged in physical activity and were married. About physical activity, there were no differences regarding sociodemographic data, body composition and muscle mass. Conclusion: Most of the reserve military personnel were physically active. Regarding the practice of physical activity, it is possible to conclude that there is no difference between practitioners and non-practitioners with regard to sociodemographic variables and lifestyle. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between groups regarding muscle variables and body composition.O processo de envelhecimento leva à dificuldade do corpo manter seu equilíbrio homeostático e isso, sob circunstâncias de sobrecarga funcional, gera déficit de alguns sistemas corporais, podendo evoluir com comprometimento de determinadas funções, especialmente pela perda de massa muscular. Objetivo: Avaliar a massa muscular esquelética e composição corporal dos militares da reserva. Métodos: trata-se de um estudo descritivo, comparativo e retrospectivo, em que foram avaliados 35 militares da reserva, que foram divididos em dois grupos G1 (praticantes ativos de atividade física) e (G2) não praticantes. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: questionário de estilo de vida, estadiômetro acoplado à balança, fita antropométrica e o equipamento de Bioimpedância (BIA). A partir destes instrumentos obteve-se variáveis demográficas, circunferência da cintura (CC). massa muscular esquelética (MME), índice de massa corporal (IMC), percentual de gordura (%G) e o índice de músculo esquelético (IME). Os dados foram analisados por estatística descritiva e analítica, por meio do software SPSS (v.23.0). A normalidade dos dados foi verificada pelo teste de Shapiro-Wilk. A comparação de médias entre os grupos foi verificada através do Teste t de Student para amostras independentes (variáveis paramétricas) e U de Mann-Whitney (variáveis não-paramétricas), considerando p<0,05. Resultados: Quanto a atividade física, não houve diferença estatística nas variáveis analisadas. Em relação à idade, observou-se relação direta entre a perda de MME nos militares acima dos 60 anos, e uma relação inversa entre %G e MME. Conclusão: Conclui-se que a MME e o IME apresentaram valores mais elevados no grupo praticante de atividade física. Além disso, observa-se que as variáveis antropométricas estão inversamente relacionadas com a perda de massa muscular

A New PRNG Hardware Architecture Based on an Exponential Chaotic Map

Recent works have been claiming efficient hardware architectures, showing a considerable endeavor to implement chaotic maps in the digital domain. However, there is a critical issue with the chaotic degradation in the digital environment due to its finite numeric precision, that it is still an unsettled topic in the research community. Additionally, less attention has been given to synthesize a methodological approach to how to calculate the exponential function in hardware. In this paper, two novel hardware designs to represent the exponential chaotic map have been suggested. We have employed a perturbation method to avoid the chaotic degradation. 64-bit fixed-point and 32-bit floating-point formats were investigated. Moreover, an approximation of Euler's number by a finite series and the Horner's method have been undertaken to further minimize the proposed hardware. Results show that both proposed hardware architectures consume a fewer number of components. The designed systems present a positive Lyapunov exponent, which suggests a chaotic behavior. Ultimately, the NIST SP 800-22 test, the histogram, and the autocorrelation function show that the new hardware architectures present pseudo-random properties

A TERAPIA FOTODINÂMICA NO TRATAMENTO DA PERI-IMPLANTITE: UMA REVISÃO DE LITERATURA

Os implantes dentários têm alto índice de sucesso, no entanto há implantes que são perdidos

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011