Ferramentas Visuais para o Ensino de Machine Learning na Educação Básica

Ensinar Machine Learning (ML) em escolas ajuda a preparar estudantes para lidar com questões sociais, econômicas e éticas do século 21. Isso requer ferramentas apropriadas a cada idade que permitem que os estudantes criem uma concepção abrangente de ML e sua aplicação. Desse modo, apresentamos um mapeamento de ferramentas visuais emergentes que ajudam a ensinar conceitos de ML na Educação Básica e caracterizamos as ferramentas em relação ao suporte para o desenvolvimento e deployment de modelos de ML em contextos educacionais. Os resultados podem ajudar designers instrucionais e instrutores a selecionar ferramentas apropriadas a fim de contribuir para a democratização de competências em ML

Ensinando a Computação por meio de Programação com App Inventor

A partir da proximidade de alunos do Ensino Fundamental com smartphones, uma forma cativante de ensinar computação pode ser pela programação de aplicativos móveis. Assim, o objetivo do presente artigo é apresentar o design instrucional de uma oficina para ensinar a programação de aplicativos com a ferramenta App Inventor alinhada ao currículo de referência ACM/CSTA K-12. A unidade instrucional foi aplicada em duas turmas de uma escola pública em Florianópolis/SC e apresentou resultados significativos em termos da aprendizagem, facilidade e experiência de aprendizagem, promovendo um grande efeito instigador e despertando o interesse de alunos a aprender a programação

Nintedanib Plus Pemetrexed/Cisplatin in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Phase II Results From the Randomized, Placebo-Controlled LUME-Meso Trial

Purpose LUME-Meso is a phase II/III randomized, double-blind trial designed to assess efficacy and safety of nintedanib plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Phase II results are reported here. Patients and Methods Chemotherapy-na¨ıve patients with unresectable, nonsarcomatoid MPM (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 1), stratified by histology (epithelioid or biphasic), were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to up to six cycles of pemetrexed and cisplatin plus nintedanib (200 mg twice daily) or placebo followed by nintedanib plus placebo monotherapy until progression. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Results Eighty-seven patients were randomly assigned. The median number of pemetrexed and cisplatin cycles was six; the median treatment duration for nintedanib was 7.8 months and 5.3 months for placebo. Primary PFS favored nintedanib (hazard ratio [HR], 0.56; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.91; P = .017), which was confirmed in updated PFS analyses (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.87; P = .010). A trend toward improved overall survival also favored nintedanib (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.46 to 1.29; P = .319). Benefit was evident in epithelioid histology, with a median overall survival gain of 5.4 months (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.40 to 1.21; P = .197; median [nintedanib v placebo], 20.6 months v 15.2 months) and median PFS gain of 4.0 months (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.82; P = .006; median [nintedanib v placebo], 9.7 v 5.7 months). Neutropenia was the most frequent grade $ 3 adverse event (AE; nintedanib 43.2% v placebo 12.2%); rates of febrile neutropenia were low (4.5% in nintedanib group v 0% in placebo group). AEs leading to discontinuation were reported in 6.8% of those receiving nintedanib versus 17.1% of those in the placebo group. Conclusion Addition of nintedanib to pemetrexed plus cisplatin resulted in PFS improvement. AEs were manageable. The clinical benefit was evident in patients with epithelioid histology. The confirmatory phase III part of the study is ongoing

Multi-tier Loyalty Programs to Stimulate Customer Engagement

Customers differ in their purchase behavior, profitability, attitude toward the firm, and so on. These differences between customers have led to numerous firms introducing multi-tier loyalty programs. A multi-tier loyalty program explicitly distinguishes between customers by means of hierarchical tiers (e.g. Silver, Gold, Platinum) and assigns customers to different tiers based on their past purchase behavior. Next, customers in different tiers are provided varying levels of tangible rewards and intangible benefits, which are potentially powerful instruments to stimulate customer engagement. In this chapter, we focus on the design and effectiveness of such multi-tier loyalty programs. Building on loyalty program and customer prioritization research, we discuss whether, why, and how multi-tier loyalty programs are effective (or not) in influencing customer behavior, thereby enhancing customer engagement and financial performance

In vivo evolution of tumour cells after the generation of double-strand DNA breaks

In vitro, the ratio of single- to double-strand DNA breaks (DSB) and their absolute values determine the cell death pathway. The consequences of the generation of various numbers of DSB generated in vivo in tumour cells have been analysed in two different experimental tumour models. Synchronisation of DSB generation and control of their number have been achieved using different doses of bleomycin (BLM) and tumour cell permeabilisation by means of locally delivered electric pulses. According to BLM dose, different cell death pathways are observed. At a low therapeutic dose, a mitotic cell death pathway is detected. It is characterised by the appearance of 'atypical mitosis', TUNEL and caspase-3 positive, 24 h after the treatment, and later by the presence of typical apoptotic figures, mainly TUNEL positive but caspase-3 negative. Caspase-3 is thus an early marker of apoptosis. Mitotic cell death is also followed by lymphocytic infiltration reaction. At high doses of BLM, pseudoapoptosis is detected within a few minutes after the treatment. These cell death pathways are discussed as a function of the number of DSB generated, by comparison with previous results obtained in vitro using BLM or ionising radiation

Consumer–brand identification revisited: An integrative framework of brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image and their role for brand loyalty and word of mouth

Consumer–brand identification has received considerable attraction among scholars and practitioners in recent years. We contribute to previous research by proposing an integrative model that includes consumer–brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image to investigate the interrelationships among these constructs as well as their effects on brand loyalty and positive word of mouth. To provide general results, we empirically test the model using a sample of 1443 respondents from a representative consumer panel and 10 service/product brands. The results demonstrate that identification, satisfaction, and price image significantly influence both loyalty and word of mouth. Moreover, we find significant interrelationships among the constructs: Identification positively influences both satisfaction and price image, which also increases satisfaction. By disclosing the relative importance of three separate ways of gaining and retaining customers, this study helps managers more appropriately choose the right mix of branding, pricing, and relationship marketing. From an academic point of view, our research is the first to explicitly examine the effects of the concept of identification for price management and to integrate variables from the fields of branding, relationship marketing, and behavioral pricing, which have separately been identified as particularly important determinants of marketing outcomes

Performance improvement of silicon solar cells by nanoporous silicon coating

In the present paper the method is shown to improve the photovoltaic parameters of screenprinted silicon solar cells by nanoporous silicon film formation on the frontal surface of the cell using the electrochemical etching. The possible mechanisms responsible for observed improvement of silicon solar cell performance are discussed.Исследовано улучшение фотоэлектрических параметров кремниевых солнечных элементов, полученных методом трафаретной печати, за счет образования слоя пористого кремния на фронтальной поверхности элемента. Рассмотрены возможные механизмы, ответственные за улучшение производительности кремниевой солнечной ячейки.Досліджено поліпшення фотоелектричних параметрів кремнієвих сонячних елементів, отриманих методом трафаретного друку, за рахунок утворення шару пористого кремнію на фронтальній поверхні елемента. Розглянуто можливі механізми, відповідальні за поліпшення продуктивності кремнієвого сонячного елемента