Um Sistema para Inspeções de Garantia da Qualidade Baseado em Ontologias e Agentes

A implementação de práticas de garantia da qualidade possui uma relação custo/benefício difícil de balancear. Isso ocorre  porque o custo de execução das práticas é direto, enquanto que, o benefício obtido com estas é indireto. No intuito demelhorar essa relação, este trabalho apresenta um sistema de suporte para as inspeções de garantia da qualidade capaz de automatizar a definição de escopo e o endereçamento de não conformidades, além de gerenciar cadastros e calcular indicadores. O sistema é formado por uma ontologia, a qual mapeia a semântica envolvida nas inspeções de garantia da qualidade; e por agentes de software, os quais implementamas regras necessárias para automação das atividades mencionadas. Os experimentos realizados em uma Fábrica de Software mostraram melhora na produtividade nas inspeções, maximizando a cobertura, sem impactar no esforço demandado

Using PDCA as a General Framework for Teaching and Evaluating the Learning of Software Engineering Disciplines

Software engineering disciplines need to be taught in contexts as diverse as undergraduate courses and large corporations training programs. A primary challenge in teaching such disciplines, in any context, is to quickly and effectively evaluate the students learning and measure their strengths and weaknesses. Another challenge is to make students of different instances of a discipline end up with the same basic foundations, making the knowledge independent of the instructor. To overcome these challenges we propose an approach for software engineering teaching based on adapted PDCA cycles and checklists as instruments of evaluation. We also report a case study which shows the implementation of this approach in teaching a first year undergraduate software engineering course. With a careful definition of checklists, the use of the adapted version of PDCA as a methodology for software engineering teaching is promising, allowing an efficient form of evaluation

On a class of nonlinear elliptic equations with fast increasing weight and critical growth

AbstractWe are concerned with the existence of rapidly decaying solutions for the equation−div(K(x)∇u)=λK(x)|x|β|u|q−2u+K(x)|u|2∗−2u,x∈RN, where N⩾3, 2⩽q<2∗:=2N/(N−2), λ>0 is a parameter, K(x):=exp(|x|α/4), α⩾2 and the number β is given by β:=(α−2)(2∗−q)(2∗−2). We obtain a positive solution if 2<q<2∗ and a sign changing solution if q=2. The existence results depend on the values of the parameter λ. In the proofs we apply variational methods

Roman agriculture in the conventus Bracaraugustanus (NW Iberia)

A review of archaeobotanical data, together with new, still unpublished data, from Roman sites in conventus Bracaraugustanus suggests the Romanization of the northwest Iberia brought little changes to the agricultural strategies of local communities in indigenous-type settlements. The main crops remain the same as in the Iron Age: Triticum aestivum/durum, Panicum miliaceum, Hordeum vulgare subsp. vul- gare, Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum and T. aestivum subsp. spelta, Avena and Vicia faba. The first secure reference for the cultivation of Secale cereale in the region comes from a Roman context, sug- gesting that it was introduced in this period, although it probably remained a minor crop.It is possible that during Roman times we have the first evidences for the cultivation of vine in the southernmost part of the conventus, near the river Douro but there are no signs of olive trees cultivation. Overall, not all the innovations usually attributed to the Romans are recorded in northwest Iberia. This fits the general scenario of a region which maintained its rural character, although with some differences in territorial organization. However, the fact that almost all the sites with fruits and seeds are indigenous-type settlements (hillforts) demands caution while interpreting the data, namely the pro-portion between continuity and innovation

Reserva cognitiva no idoso: aspectos neuropsicológicos e o papel da educação nas últimas descobertas

A população idosa está crescendo mundialmente e, portanto, declínio cognitivo e demência são um grande problema para o sistema de saúde. Contudo, muito idosos não desenvolvem demência ou algum prejuízo cognitivo significativo, mesmo que apresentem lesões cerebrais, como atrofia e/ou lesões corticais, levando ao conceito de Reserva Cogntiva (RC). O principal objetivo dessa revisão é estabelecer as descobertas recentes da RC na cognição dos idosos e explorar alguns dos marcadores cognitivos relacionados à RC. Com o intuito de conseguirmos nosso objetivo, nós realizamos uma pesquisa por artigos publicados tanto em língua inglesa quanto portuguesa, nos últimos 5 anos, na base de dados Medline usando como palavras chave: reserve cognitiva, idoso e envelhecimento. Nós filtramos 14 estudos que abordavam especificamente aspectos neuropsicológicos (p.e, memória, atenção, orientação, função executiva) e os revisamos em detalhes. Baseados nesses artigos em relação a idosos, educação parece ter várias implicações na RC por fortalecer habilidades cognitivas, contudo não parece impactar no declínio cognitivo. Além disso, notamos que performance cognitiva é uma das formas de se medir RC, embora os métodos não possam ser padronizados, o que pode ser a causa de conclusões diversas. Em relação à RC, educação foi a medida mais prevalente e RC parece ter um efeito benéfico em função executiva e memória episódica, de forma que parece agir através tanto da reserva neural quanto da compensação neural. Exposição a textos impressos parece ser uma variável em potencial relacionada com a performance cognitiva e RC.The elderly population is growing worldwide, and therefore cognitive decline and dementia is a major problem for healthcare system. However, many elders do not develop dementia or significant cognitive impairment even though present brain lesions, such as cortical atrophy and/or lesions, leading to the concept of Cognitive Reserve (CR). The main objective of this review is to establish the recent findings of CR in elderly cognition and explore some of the cognitive markers related to CR. In order to accomplish that we carried out a search for papers published either in English or Portuguese language in the last 5 years in the Medline database using as keywords cognitive reserve, elderly and aging/ageing. We filtered 14 studies that specifically approached the neuropsychological aspects (e.g, memory, attention, orientation, executive function) and reviewed them in detail. Based on these papers regarding old-aged individuals, education appears to have several implications on CR by strengthening cognitive abilities, however does not appear to impact on cognitive decline. Besides, we realized that cognitive performance is one of the form to measure CR, even though the methods cannot be standardized, which may be the cause of some varied conclusions. Regarding CR, education was the most prevalent measure, and CR seems to have a beneficial effect on executive function and episodic memory and it seems to act by both neural reserve and neural compensation. Print exposure appears as a potential variable positively related to cognitive performance and CR

Distribution of Rickettsia rickettsii in ovary cells of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille1806) (Acari: Ixodidae)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Considering the fact that the dog tick, <it>Rhipicephalus sanguineus</it>, has a great potential to become the vector of Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) for humans, the present study aimed to describe the distribution of the bacterium <it>Rickettsia rickettsii</it>, the etiological agent of BSF, in different regions of the ovaries of <it>R. sanguineus </it>using histological techniques. The ovaries were obtained from positive females confirmed by the hemolymph test and fed in the nymph stage on guinea pigs inoculated with <it>R. rickettsii</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed a general distribution of <it>R. rickettsii </it>in the ovary cells, being found in oocytes in all stages of development (I, II, III, IV and V) most commonly in the periphery of the oocyte and also in the cytoplasm of pedicel cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The histological analysis of the ovaries of <it>R. sanguineus </it>infected females confirmed the presence of the bacterium, indicating that the infection can interfere negatively in the process of reproduction of the ticks, once alterations were detected both in the shape and cell structure of the oocytes which contained bacteria.</p

Determinação da Constante Universal dos Gases: uma proposta de abordagem alternativa.

Neste trabalho propõe-se a construção de um sistema alternativo e de baixo custo para a determinação experimental da constante universal dos gases. Alunos do ensino médio testaram a prática e os resultados obtidos estão de acordo com o encontrado na literatura, mostrando como a ciência pode ser entendida de maneira fácil através de experimentos simples tornando-a mais concreta para os estudantes