Uso da metodologia MCDA na avaliação sistêmica das organizações: um estudo da viabilidade e limitações da aplicação da metodologia neste tipo de avaliação

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de ProduçãoEste trabalho apresenta uma proposta para o uso da metodologia MCDA (Metodologias Multicritério de Apoio à Decisão) na avaliação sistêmica do desempenho organizacional. A visão escolhida para o tratamento do problema de desempenho foi a construtivista. Nesta apresentação são analisadas as principais dificuldades do ponto de vista teórico e prático, para se conseguir o enfoque sistêmico com a metodologia escolhida. Será apresentada, também, a forma de superar todas as dificuldades identificadas e as vantagens e limitações da escolha diante das outras opções disponíveis. Um estudo de caso foi desenvolvido para ilustrar melhor e em detalhe o impacto das considerações teóricas no nível prático. No estudo de caso são elaborados diversos modelos fazendo-se uso da metodologia MCDA. Os modelos gerados com esta metodologia são propostos como um meio para descrever e organizar o pensamento dos componentes chave do sistema em torno da problemática de desempenho. É mostrado como, a partir dos modelos gerados, é possível construir uma visão mais ampla em torno da problemática de desempenho e uma identificação dos fatores mais críticos que afetam a sinergia organizacional. A proposta final resulta numa abordagem onde tanto a perspectiva sistêmica como a cartesiana são usadas. É com ambas perspectivas que, nesta proposta, se consegue um entendimento que poderá ser usado pelos gestores para identificar ações de melhoria no sistema

Uso de um sistema especialista como apoio na estruturação do historico de dados de equipamentos

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro TecnologicoDe diversas formas tem-se procurado, registrar os conhecimentos específicos dos especialistas assim como a forma como resolvem os problemas. Com a evolução da informática e popularização dos computadores pessoais, a área da inteligência artificial tem fornecido várias ferramentas que possibilitam capturar o conhecimento dos especialistas e aumentar sua disponibilidade. Neste sentido, os sistemas especialistas são um ramo da inteligência artificial com grande número de aplicações práticas. Neste trabalho, será apresentado um estudo de caso onde foi utilizado um sistema especialista que possibilita a geração de descritivos padronizados de eventos, como falhas ou defeitos que ocorrem durante a operação dos equipamentos de uma planta de produção de energia. A geração de descritivos dos eventos que irão compor, mais tarde, o histórico dos equipamentos de uma planta ou sistema de produção, é resultado de um processo de avaliação de diversos parâmetros que exigem conhecimento especializado. Estes parâmetros são de diversas naturezas: elétricas, mecânicas ou eletrônicas e podem ainda incluir informações de alarmes e eventos relacionados aos demais equipamentos que compõem uma planta de produção. Através do desenvolvimento do estudo de caso será mostrado como um sistema especialista facilita esta avaliação e permite a composição de um histórico confiável

Harmonisation and Between-Country Differences of the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire in Older Adults

Background: The Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire (LEQ) assesses complex mental activity across the life-course and has been associated with brain and cognitive health. The different education systems and occupation classifications across countries represent a challenge for international comparisons. The objectives of this study were four-fold: to adapt and harmonise the LEQ across four European countries, assess its validity across countries, explore its association with brain and cognition and begin to investigate between-country differences in life-course mental activities. Method: The LEQ was administered to 359 cognitively unimpaired older adults (mean age and education: 71.2, 13.2 years) from IMAP and EU-funded Medit-Ageing projects. Education systems, classification of occupations and scoring guidelines were adapted to allow comparisons between France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. We assessed the LEQ's (i) concurrent validity with a similar instrument (cognitive activities questionnaire - CAQ) and its structural validity by testing the factors' structure across countries, (ii) we investigated its association with cognition and neuroimaging, and (iii) compared its scores between countries. Results: The LEQ showed moderate to strong positive associations with the CAQ and revealed a stable multidimensional structure across countries that was similar to the original LEQ. The LEQ was positively associated with global cognition. Between-country differences were observed in leisure activities across the life-course. Conclusions: The LEQ is a promising tool for assessing the multidimensional construct of cognitive reserve and can be used to measure socio-behavioural determinants of cognitive reserve in older adults across countries. Longitudinal studies are warranted to test further its clinical utility

Pre‐screening models for patient engagement: The MOPEAD project

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating condition that not only impacts greatly on the patient's health but also poses an important burden on the patient's immediate family circle. Early detection of AD allows patients to have an active role in managing their condition, and to plan how to minimize the strain on their dear ones. Despite known benefits, a large proportion of dementia cases remains undiagnosed or receives a late stage diagnosis. The MOPEAD project aims to address this issue by exploring innovative strategies to emerge "hidden" cases of cognitive impairment.MethodMemory clinics located in five different European countries participated in the project. Four innovative pre‐screening strategies were implemented to detect cognitive decline among individuals aged 65‐85 years who had never received a dementia related diagnosis: a) a web‐based pre‐screening tool along with an online marketing campaign, b) open house initiatives where people with memory complaints were invited to receive a quick evaluation at participating memory clinics, c) a primary care‐based protocol for early detection of cognitive decline using easily administered tools, and d) a tertiary care‐based pre‐screening at diabetologist clinics specifically designed to assess risk of dementia among patients with diabetes. A positive pre‐screening result implied that individuals were at high risk of having mild cognitive impairment or AD.ResultThe number of individuals enrolled, and the proportion of those with positive pre‐screening results varied across strategies. The web‐based tool evaluated the largest number of individuals (n=1487) and yielded 547 positive results (36.8%). The Open house initiative pre‐screened 661 subjects of whom 235 (35.6%) obtained a positive result. A total of 435 patients were pre‐screened in the primary care‐based strategy and 193 of them (44.4%) were found to have a positive result. Finally, 264 patients from diabetes clinics underwent pre‐screening and 154 (58.3%) showed a positive result.ConclusionUsing innovative pre‐screening strategies, we were able to identify 1129 individuals at high risk of having dementia who had otherwise remained unnoticed. Initiatives like this, show us the way to go in order to shift the paradigm of AD towards an earlier diagnosis

Complementary pre-screening strategies to uncover hidden prodromal and mild Alzheimer's disease : Results from the MOPEAD project

The Models of Patient Engagement for Alzheimer's Disease (MOPEAD) project was conceived to explore innovative complementary strategies to uncover hidden prodromal and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia cases and to raise awareness both in the general public and among health professionals about the importance of early diagnosis. Four different strategies or RUNs were used: (a) a web-based (WB) prescreening tool, (2) an open house initiative (OHI), (3) a primary care-based protocol for early detection of cognitive decline (PC), and (4) a tertiary care-based pre-screening at diabetologist clinics (DC). A total of 1129 patients at high risk of having prodromal AD or dementia were identified of 2847 pre-screened individuals (39.7%). The corresponding proportion for the different initiatives were 36.8% (WB), 35.6% (OHI), 44.4% (PC), and 58.3% (DC). These four complementary pre-screening strategies were useful for identifying individuals at high risk of having prodromal or mild AD

The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) are increasingly utilized to improve mental health. Interest in the putative effects of MBPs on cognitive function is also growing. This is the first meta-analysis of objective cognitive outcomes across multiple domains from randomized MBP studies of adults. Seven databases were systematically searched to January 2020. Fifty-six unique studies (n = 2,931) were included, of which 45 (n = 2,238) were synthesized using robust variance estimation meta-analysis. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses evaluated moderators. Pooling data across cognitive domains, the summary effect size for all studies favored MBPs over comparators and was small in magnitude (g = 0.15; [0.05, 0.24]). Across subgroup analyses of individual cognitive domains/subdomains, MBPs outperformed comparators for executive function (g = 0.15; [0.02, 0.27]) and working memory outcomes (g = 0.23; [0.11, 0.36]) only. Subgroup analyses identified significant effects for studies of non-clinical samples, as well as for adults aged over 60. Across all studies, MBPs outperformed inactive, but not active comparators. Limitations include the primarily unclear within-study risk of bias (only a minority of studies were considered low risk), and that statistical constraints rendered some p-values unreliable. Together, results partially corroborate the hypothesized link between mindfulness practices and cognitive performance. This review was registered with PROSPERO [CRD42018100904]

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in at-risk groups for AD dementia and their association with worry and AD biomarkers—results from the DELCODE study

Background: Early identification of individuals at risk of dementia is mandatory to implement prevention strategies and design clinical trials that target early disease stages. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) have been proposed as potential markers for early manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We aimed to investigate the frequency of NPS in SCD, in other at-risk groups, in healthy controls (CO), and in AD patients, and to test the association of NPS with AD biomarkers, with a particular focus on cognitively unimpaired participants with or without SCD-related worries. / Methods: We analyzed data of n = 687 participants from the German DZNE Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (DELCODE) study, including the diagnostic groups SCD (n = 242), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 115), AD (n = 77), CO (n = 209), and first-degree relatives of AD patients (REL, n = 44). The Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI-SF) were used to assess NPS. We examined differences of NPS frequency between diagnostic groups. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to further investigate the relationship between NPS and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers, focusing on a subsample of cognitively unimpaired participants (SCD, REL, and CO), who were further differentiated based on reported worries. / Results: The numbers of reported NPS, depression scores, and anxiety scores were significantly higher in subjects with SCD compared to CO. The quantity of reported NPS in subjects with SCD was lower compared to the MCI and AD group. In cognitively unimpaired subjects with worries, low Aß42 was associated with higher rates of reporting two or more NPS (OR 0.998, 95% CI 0.996–1.000, p < .05). / Conclusion: These findings give insight into the prevalence of NPS in different diagnostic groups, including SCD and healthy controls. NPS based on informant report seem to be associated with underlying AD pathology in cognitively unimpaired participants who worry about cognitive decline. / Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00007966. Registered 4 May 2015

A roadmap for gene functional characterisation in crops with large genomes: Lessons from polyploid wheat

Understanding the function of genes within staple crops will accelerate crop improvement by allowing targeted breeding approaches. Despite their importance, a lack of genomic information and resources has hindered the functional characterisation of major crop genes. The recent release of high-quality reference sequences for these crops underpins a suite of genetic and genomic resources that support basic research and breeding. For wheat, these include gene model annotations, expression atlases and gene networks that provide information about putative function. Sequenced mutant populations, improved transformation protocols and structured natural populations provide rapid methods to study gene function directly. We highlight a case study exemplifying how to integrate these resources. This review provides a helpful guide for plant scientists, especially those expanding into crop research, to capitalise on the discoveries made in Arabidopsis and other plants. This will accelerate the improvement of crops of vital importance for food and nutrition security