Ontology for Data Representation in the Production of Cotton Fiber in Brazil

An important feature in computer systems developed for the agricultural sector is to satisfy the heterogeneity of data generated in different processes. Most problems related with this heterogeneity arise from the lack of standard for different computing solutions proposed. An efficient solution for that is to create a single standard for data exchange. The study on the actual process involved in cotton production was based on a research developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) that reports all phases as a result of the compilation of several theoretical and practical researches related to cotton crop. The proposition of a standard starts with the identification of the most important classes of data involved in the process, and includes an ontology that is the systematization of concepts related to the production of cotton fiber and results in a set of classes, relations, functions and instances. The results are used as a reference for the development of computational tools, transforming implicit knowledge into applications that support the knowledge described. This research is based on data from the Midwest of Brazil. The choice of the cotton process as a study case comes from the fact that Brazil is one of the major players and there are several improvements required for system integration in this segment

Mitigação e adaptação das cidades às alterações climáticas: vulnerabilidades socioambientais e conflitos jurídicos na tutela das Áreas Urbanas de Preservação Permanente no Brasil

This paper aims to understand the relationships between socio-environmental vulnerability in Brazilian urban areas in the current context of climate change and the legal protection of urban Areas of Permanent Preservation (APP, in the acronym in Portuguese). We seek to identify and interpret how the composition formed by (i) norms currently in force in Brazilian law, (ii) instruments of environmental and land-use planning public policies, and (iii) jurisprudence on normative conflicts related to the discipline of urban PPAs. By means of a literature review and critical analysis of the legislation, other public policy instruments and jurisprudential precedents, we aimed to understand how this composition is aligned with initiatives to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to reduce socio-environmental vulnerabilities resulted from or aggravated by it, with a focus on the situation of populations that live precariously in risk areas. As a result, we have identified a complex and not very harmonious composition of norms applicable to these protected areas in the urban context. However, the current understanding of jurisprudence and the current legislative activity have evolved positively in relation to the necessary actions of adaptation to climate change and reduction of socio-environmental vulnerabilities, although important improvements are still necessary for effective protection and restoration, whenever possible, of urban APP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thermal entanglement witness for materials with variable local spin lengths

We show that the thermal entanglement in a spin system using only magnetic susceptibility measurements is restricted to the insulator materials. We develop a generalization of the thermal entanglement witness that allows us to get information about the system entanglement with variable local spin lengths that can be used experimentally in conductor or insulator materials. As an application, we study thermal entanglement for the half-filled Hubbard model for linear, square and cubic clusters. We note that it is the itinerancy of electrons that favors the entanglement. Our results suggest a weak dependence between entanglement and external spin freedom degrees.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Política Nacional sobre Mudança do Clima no Brasil: uma avaliação de instrumentos e de efetividade

As mudanças climáticas emergem como um dos principais problemas que deverão ser enfrentados pela comunidade internacional no século 21. O Brasil, enquanto signatário de tratados internacionais sobre o tema, tem o compromisso de mitigar as causas e efeitos das alterações climáticas, de modo a impedir que a temperatura do planeta se eleve a um nível de colapso dos ecossistemas. Neste contexto, este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a Política Nacional sobre Mudança do Clima, considerando os seguintes aspectos: relevância, impacto, eficácia, persistência, flexibilidade, eficiência, legitimidade, transparência e equidade. Para tanto, analisamos a efetividade dos instrumentos disponíveis na PNMC, implementados em conjunto com outras leis ambientais, a partir dos dados de monitoramento disponibilizados pelo Governo Federal até dezembro de 2020, para compreender de que forma reagiram os setores responsáveis pela maior parte das emissões de gases de efeito estufa (GEE) no Brasil, quais sejam, os setores de florestas e mudança do uso do solo, de energia e transportes e agropecuário. A conclusão sobre o sucesso da PNMC é muito prejudicada, devido à diferença entre os dados oficiais, disponibilizados pelo governo federal, e aqueles levantados e contabilizados pela sociedade civil, em relação às emissões brasileiras de gases de efeito estufa. Considerando os dados oficiais, em termos gerais, a PNMC é uma política bem-sucedida, em relação aos resultados, em que pese a diferença em relação aos dados oficiais apresentados por agentes estatais e aqueles publicados por entidades da sociedade civil. Ademais, a norma é programática e peca por não ter instrumentos de comando e controle efetivos e por não ter tido executado o principal instrumento econômico nela previsto, o Mercado Brasileiro de Redução de Emissões. A política depende, ainda, da eficácia de outras normas ambientais, para que suas metas sejam atingidas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Isolation and characterization of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii from calves and piglets.

The goal of our study was to isolate and characterize Faecalibacterium prausnitzii from fecal samples of healthy calves and piglets, in order to develop a novel probiotic for livestock animals. We identified 203 isolates of Faecalibacterium sp., which were clustered in 40 genetically distinct groups. One representative isolate from each cluster was selected for further characterization. The concentrations of the short chain fatty acids (SCFA) acetate, butyrate, propionate and isobutyrate in the culture media were measured by gas chromatography. We observed reduction in the concentration of acetate followed by concomitant increase in the concentration of butyrate, suggesting that the isolates were consuming acetate present in the media and producing butyrate. Butyrate production correlated positively with bacterial growth. Since butyrate has many benefits to the colonic epithelial cells, the selection of strains that produce higher amounts of butyrate is extremely important for the development of this potential probiotic. The effect of pH and concentration of bile salts on bacterial growth was also evaluated in order to mimic the conditions encountered by F. prausnitzii in vivo. The optimal pH for growth ranged between 5.5 and 6.7, while most isolates were inhibited by of the lowest concentration of bile salts tested (0.1%). Antimicrobial resistance profile showed that most isolates of Faecalibacterium sp. were resistant against ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. More than 50% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline, amikacin, cefepime and cefoxitin. A total of 19 different combinations of multidrug resistance were observed among the isolates. Our results provide new insights into the cultural and physiological characteristics of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii illustrating large variability in short chain fatty acid production, in vitro growth, sensitivity to bile salts, and antibiotic resistance and suggesting that future probiotic candidates should be carefully studied before elected for in vivo studies

Music Synthesis From Images

UIDB/00693/2020 UIDP/00693/2020MuSyFI is a system that tries to model an inspirationalcomputational creative process. It uses images as sourceof inspiration and begins by implementing a possibletranslation between visual and musical features. Resultsof this mapping are fed to a Genetic Algorithm (GA)to try to better model the creative process and producemore interesting results. Three different musical artifacts are generated: an automatic version, a co-createdversion, and a genetic version. The automatic versionmaps features from the image into musical features nondeterministically; the co-created version adds harmonylines manually composed by us to the automatic version; finally, the genetic version applies a genetic algorithm to a mixed population of automatic and co-createdartifacts.The three versions were evaluated for six differentimages by conducting surveys. They evaluated whetherpeople considered our musical artifacts music, if theythought the artifacts had quality, if they considered theartifacts ’novel’, if they liked the artifacts, and lastly ifthey were able to relate the artifacts with the image inwhich they were inspired. We gathered a total of 300answers and overall people answered positively to allquestions, which confirms our approach was successfuland worth further exploring.publishersversionpublishe

Association between lowering restriction levels during the coronavirus outbreak and physical activity among adults: a longitudinal observational study in Brazil

OBJECTIVE The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant consequences on public health and lifestyle and has negatively affected mental health and the level of physical activity worldwide. This study examined the impact of reopening fitness centers and nonessential services and introducing flexible measures to ensure social distancing on physical activity and mental health. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a longitudinal study. A self-administered questionnaire, including personal, behavioral, physical activity, perception of health, and mood state disorder information, was answered by 128 Brazilians in June 2020 (during severe restrictive measures) and again in April 2021 (after fitness centers and nonessential services were reopened). RESULTS The restriction level adopted in April 2021 was significantly lower than that in June 2020 (p<0.001). The level of physical activity (p<0.001) and health status perception (p<0.001) decreased from June 2020 to April 2021. The median values for depression and anxiety did not differ across the study period. CONCLUSIONS The level of physical activity was reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and anxiety and depression were not improved following less restrictive social distancing measures and the reopening of fitness centers. Thus, the return to a prepandemic level of physical activity and mental health status may not be automatic. The results presented herein suggest that the decrease in physical activity observed in the population may be challenging in the postpandemic period

Functional versus nonfunctional rehabilitation in chronic ischemic stroke: evidences from a randomized functional mri study

Motor rehabilitation of stroke survivors may include functional and/or nonfunctional strategy. The present study aimed to compare the effect of these two rehabilitation strategies by means of clinical scales and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Twelve hemiparetic chronic stroke patients were selected. Patients were randomly assigned a nonfunctional (NFS) or functional (FS) rehabilitation scheme. Clinical scales (Fugl-Meyer, ARA test, and modified Barthel) and fMRI were applied at four moments: before rehabilitation (P1) and immediately after (P2), 1 month after (P3), and three months after (P4) the end of rehabilitation. The NFS group improved significantly and exclusively their Fugl-Meyer scores at P2, P3, and P4, when compared to P1. On the other hand, the FS group increased significantly in Fugl-Meyer at P2, when compared to P1, and also in their ARA and Barthel scores. fMRI inspection at the individual level revealed that both rehabilitation schemes most often led to decreased activation sparseness, decreased activity of contralesional M1, increased asymmetry of M1 activity to the ipsilesional side, decreased perilesional activity, and decreased SMA activity. Increased M1 asymmetry with rehabilitation was also confirmed by Lateralization Indexes. Our clinical analysis revealed subtle differences between FS and NFS.CNPqCAPESRadiology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Ribeirao Preto School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilBrain Institute/Onofre Lopes University Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, 59153-155 Natal, RN, BrazilDepartment of Psychobiology, Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilDepartment of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirao Preto School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, 14049-900 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilDepartment of Psychobiology, Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc