An empirical study on the estimation of size and complexity of software applications with function points analysis

Empirical studies are important in software engineering to evaluate new tools, techniques, methods and technologies in a structured way before they are introduced in the industrial (real) software process. Perform empirical studies in a real context is very difficult due to various obstacles. An interesting alternative is perform empirical studies in an educational context using students as subjects and share the results with the academia and the industry. This paper describes a case study with two teams that developed a software system (Web application) for a real customer. In this study we used a model based on Function Points Analysis (FPA) to estimate the size and complexity of software system

Avaliação neurológica de recém-nascidos com hemorragia intraventricular e periventricular

We studied the clinical aspects of 100 consecutive premature newborns with and without intraventricular and periventricular hemorrhage (IPVH).The diagnosis of IPVH was obtained by ultrasonic scans of the skull during the first week of life and at the age of one month. Forty eight percent of newborns with IPVH had abnormal results, and there was a significant correlation with the neurological evaluation in 85% of the infants. The probability of normality for a child with no associated brain abnormalities was 72%, whereas for a child of the same gestational age with associated brain abnormalities was 48.7%.Foram estudados os aspectos clínicos de 100 recém-nascidos prematuros, com e sem hemorragia periventricular-intraventricular (HPIV). O diagnóstico foi obtido através de exames ultra-sonográficos de crânio, realizados durante a primeira semana de vida e na idade corrigida de um mês.Quarenta e oito por cento dos recém-nascidos com HPVI evidenciaram resultados anormais, sendo a correlação significativa com a evolução neurológica, em 85% das crianças. Crianças que não apresentaram anormalidades cerebrais associadas tiveram 72% de probabilidade de manter a evolução normal, enquanto para crianças da mesma idade gestacional porém com anormalidades cerebrais associadas, a probabilidade foi 48,7%.36637

Genomic African and Native American Ancestry and Chagas Disease: The Bambui (Brazil) Epigen Cohort Study of Aging.

BackgroundThe influence of genetic ancestry on Trypanosoma cruzi infection and Chagas disease outcomes is unknown.Methodology/principal findingsWe used 370,539 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to examine the association between individual proportions of African, European and Native American genomic ancestry with T. cruzi infection and related outcomes in 1,341 participants (aged ≥ 60 years) of the Bambui (Brazil) population-based cohort study of aging. Potential confounding variables included sociodemographic characteristics and an array of health measures. The prevalence of T. cruzi infection was 37.5% and 56.3% of those infected had a major ECG abnormality. Baseline T. cruzi infection was correlated with higher levels of African and Native American ancestry, which in turn were strongly associated with poor socioeconomic circumstances. Cardiomyopathy in infected persons was not significantly associated with African or Native American ancestry levels. Infected persons with a major ECG abnormality were at increased risk of 15-year mortality relative to their counterparts with no such abnormalities (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.80; 95% 1.41, 2.32). African and Native American ancestry levels had no significant effect modifying this association.Conclusions/significanceOur findings indicate that African and Native American ancestry have no influence on the presence of major ECG abnormalities and had no influence on the ability of an ECG abnormality to predict mortality in older people infected with T. cruzi. In contrast, our results revealed a strong and independent association between prevalent T. cruzi infection and higher levels of African and Native American ancestry. Whether this association is a consequence of genetic background or differential exposure to infection remains to be determined

High-rate deposition of nano-crystalline silicon thin films on plastics

Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) is commonly used in the bottom cell of tandem solar cells. With an indirect bandgap, nc-Si:H requires thicker (∼1 µm) films for efficient light harvesting than amorphous Si (a-Si:H) does. Therefore, thin-film high deposition rates are crucial for further cost reduction of highly efficient a–Si:H based photovoltaic technology. Plastic substrates allow for further cost reduction by enabling roll-to-roll inline deposition. In this work, high nc-Si:H deposition rates on plastic were achieved at low substrate temperature (150 °C) by standard Radio-frequency (13.56 MHz) Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition. Focus was on the influence of deposition pressure, inter-electrode distance (1.2 cm) and high power coupled to the plasma, on the hydrogen-to-silane dilution ratios (HD) necessary to achieve the amorphous-to-nanocrystalline phase transition and on the resulting film deposition rate. For each pressure and rf-power, there is a value of HD for which the films start to exhibit a certain amount of crystalline fraction. For constant rf-power, this value increases with pressure. Within the parameter range studied the deposition rate was highest (0.38 nm/s) for nc-Si:H films deposited at 6 Torr, 700 mW/cm2 using HD of 98.5 %. Decreasing the pressure to 3 Torr (1.5 Torr) and rf-power to 350 mW/cm2 using HD – 98.5 % deposition rate is 0.12 nm/s (0.076 nm/s). Raman crystalline fraction of these films is 72, 62 and 53 % for the 6, 3 and 1.5 Torr films, respectively.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)DREBM/PICS_CNRS/201

One-pot hydrogen production and cascade reaction of furfural to bioproducts over bimetallic Pd-Ni TUD-1 type mesoporous catalysts

Bimetallic Pd-Ni TUD-1 type mesoporous catalysts are effective for the cascade reaction of the renewable platform chemical furfural (FUR) to the useful bioproducts 2-alkoxyfuran, 2-methylfuran (2MF), 4-oxopentanal and its acetals, which find diverse applications, some already in the market. With a single catalyst, the in situ hydrogen supply from formic acid (FAc), as well as several acid-reduction steps of the overall catalytic process were triggered, leading to the desired bioproducts (bioPs), all in one-pot under moderate reaction conditions. These multipurpose materials were prepared using different procedures and conditions, which influenced the material properties and the catalytic performances. Detailed characterisation (microstructural/molecular level) and catalytic studies led to new mechanistic insights into the FUR reaction (with identification of intermediates), allowed to assess the roles of the different types of metal species in the complex reaction mechanism, understand the influence of material properties on the catalytic process, and catalyst stability and regeneration. The best-performing catalyst was prepared stepwise via impregnation of palladium on a hydrothermally synthesised nickel silicate with a molar ratio Si/Ni of 20, ending with filtration-washing-calcination procedures. This catalyst led to 83% 2MF yield, at 98% FUR conversion (90% total bioPs yield), using 1-butanol as solvent, at 170 °C. The reported catalytic protocol benefits from the fact that external usage of H2 for catalyst activation and/or the catalytic reaction is not required, no high-pressure gases are used, and FAc is used as source of hydrogen supplied in situ for the catalytic reaction under moderate conditions. Moreover, FAc presents low toxicity, it is easy to handle/store, and is a typical coproduct of carbohydrate biomass conversion processes, and thus its repurposing is highly desirable.publishe

High-sensitivity optical humidity sensor based on a thin dielectric waveguide

A low-cost, high-sensitivity humidity sensor based on a low-loss dielectric thin film waveguide (WG) is presented. The guided mode is produced by coupling laser light into the film by optical tunneling through a solid gap deposited on the base of a semi-cylindrical lens. The light reflected from this optical system carries information about the refractive index of the medium neighboring the WG, and is detected by a low-cost CCD linear sensor and analyzed with a microcontroller or personal computer. The technique presents good sensitivity to relative humidity (RH) changes, especially below 10% RH, linear behavior between 20% and 80% RH, and a response time of a few seconds.FAPESPCNP

What is the role of Pseudomonas sp. in the anaerobic digestion of long-chain fatty acids?

Palmitate accumulation in continuous bioreactors fed with oleate appears to be the cause for frequent reports of process failure during the anaerobic treatment of lipids or LCFA-rich wastewaters. In these reactors, oleate can be converted to palmitate by microorganisms other than syntrophic bacteria (facultative anaerobic bacteria), and do not depend on the presence of active hydrogenotrophic methanogens. To study non-syntrophic oleate conversion to palmitate, methanogens were selectively eliminated by applying low hydraulic retention time in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) fed with oleate. A small plug flow reactor (PFR) was installed in series with the CSTR to allow growth of some of the washed out microorganisms in the form of a biofilm. The high amount of palmitate in the biofilm samples indicated the presence of the key microorganisms on oleate conversion to palmitate. A sample of the PFR biofilm rich in palmitate, collected after 22 days of operation, was subjected to Illumina sequencing showing that Pseudomonas was the predominant (42%) genus present. Two Pseudomonas isolates obtained from the same biofilm were used to study the role of these microorganisms on oleate biotransformation. Two bioreactors were inoculated with isolates 1 (reactor RI1) and 2 (reactor RI2) and fed with oleate at an organic loading rate of 1 g L-1 d-1 (period I) and 4 g L-1 d-1 (period II) in chemical oxygen demand (COD). In period I, oleate concentration in COD varied between 0.258 g L-1 and 0.740 g L-1 in reactor RI1, and between 0.192 g L-1 and 0.642 g L-1 in reactor RI2. In period II oleate concentration in COD was close to 1.500 g L-1 in RI1 and 1.000 g L-1 in RI2. Apparently oleate is being used by Pseudomonas isolates, however no intermediate product was detected. Probably some intermediate metabolite is being produced and is not being quantified. This hypothesis is currently under study, and may bring some light on the puzzling bioconversion of oleate into palmitate.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Energy production from lipids by novel anaerobes

[Excerpt] Anaerobic microbial diversity encloses a very high potential that can be used for biotechnological applications. This potential is still largely unexplored, since the majority of the microorganisms in Nature are unknown or poorly characterized. This work is focused on the study of novel anaerobic microorganisms that participate in the metabolism of lipids, long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and glycerol, with the main goal of producing valuable energy-rich organic compounds. For that, conventional anaerobic culturing procedures were combined with continuous bioreactors operation and allied to microbial ecology approaches. Two main examples of the work performed will be presented. (...

The combined effect of pressure and temperature on kefir production - a case study of food fermentation in unconventional conditions

Food fermentation under pressure has been studied in recent years as a way to produce foods with novel properties. The purpose of this work was to study kefir production under pressure (7–50 MPa) at different temperatures (17–32 °C), as a case study of unconventional food fermentation. The fermentation time to produce kefir was similar at all temperatures (17, 25, and 32 °C) up to 15 MPa, compared to atmospheric pressure. At 50 MPa, the fermentation rate was slower, but the difference was reduced as temperature increased. During fermentation, lactic and acetic acid concentration increased while citric acid decreased. The positive activation volumes (Va) obtained indicate that pressure decreased the fermentation rate, while the temperature rise led to the attenuation of the pressure effect (lower Va). On the other hand, higher activation energies (Ea) were observed with pressure increase, indicating that fermentation became more sensitive to temperature. The condition that resulted in a faster fermentation, higher titratable acidity, and higher concentration of lactic acid was 15 MPa/32 °C. As the authors are aware, this is the second work in the literature to study the combined effect of pressure and temperature on a fermentative process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A pilot study combining ultrafiltration with ozonation for the treatment of secondary urban wastewater: organic micropollutants, microbial load and biological effects

Ozonation followed by ultrafiltration (O3 + UF) was employed at pilot scale for the treatment of secondary urban wastewater, envisaging its safe reuse for crop irrigation. Chemical contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and priority substances (PSs), microbial load, estrogenic activity, cell viability and cellular metabolic activity were measured before and immediately after O3 + UF treatment. The microbial load was also evaluated after one-week storage of the treated water to assess potential bacteria regrowth. Among the organic micropollutants detected, only citalopram and isoproturon were not removed below the limit of quantification. The treatment was also effective in the reduction in the bacterial loads considering current legislation in water quality for irrigation (i.e., in terms of enterobacteria and nematode eggs). However, after seven days of storage, total heterotrophs regrew to levels close to the initial, with the concomitant increase in the genes 16S rRNA and intI1. The assessment of biological effects revealed similar water quality before and after treatment, meaning that O3 + UF did not produce detectable toxic by-products. Thus, the findings of this study indicate that the wastewater treated with this technology comply with the water quality standards for irrigation, even when stored up to one week, although improvements must be made to minimise microbial overgrowth.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio