The untapped potential of plant thin cell layers

Thin cell layers (TCLs), which contain a small number of cells or tissues, are explants excised from different organs (stems, leaves, roots, inflorescences, flowers, cotyledons, hypocotyls/epicotyls, and embryos). After almost 45 years of research, this culture system has been used for several monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants of commercial importance, and for model plants. The limited amount of cells in a TCL is of paramount importance because marker molecules/genes of differentiation can be easily localized in situ in the target/responsive cells. Thus, the use of TCLs has allowed, and continues to allow, for the expansion of knowledge in plant research in a practical and applied manner into the fields of tissue culture and micropropagation, cell and organ genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and development. Starting from a brief historical background, the actual and potential uses of the TCL system are briefly reviewed

Threatening to increase productivity

The wave of privatization in the 1980s and 1990s increased productivity of many previously state owned enterprises (SOEs). However, governments often do not have su±cient support to privatize SOEs. We provide evidence that threatening privatization and market competition (entry of new firms) can increase the productivity of SOEs, even though privatization and entry of new ¯rms does not occur. We study productivity at Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras. After it lost its legal monopoly Petrobras's total factor productivity increased sharply. These large gains occurred despite the fact that Petrobras faced no immediate de facto competition. The threat of competition and privatization was su±cient to generate large productivity gains. These findings suggest that changing the competitive environment can be a powerful force for improving productivity at state-owned firms.Productivity; Competition; Oil Industry

Sustainable Miracles

Growth Miracles, Total Factor Productivity, Brazil

Surveying structural change: seminal contributions and a bibliometric account

The main aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive survey of the economic literature on structural change. Along with an insightful literature review of the seminal contributions in the field, we perform a quantitative analysis that takes into account all the theoretical and empirical articles on the subject that were published from 1969 onwards. This effort to gather the relevant documentation is based on a review of 910 abstracts from articles published in all the economic journals found in the Econlit database over the past forty years. According to our quantitative analysis, structural change analysis received a major boost in the 1990s, with a considerable increase in the number of articles published on the matter. The marked rise in interest seems to be primarily related to the growing concern to find explanations for the process of technological change and its effects on the economy. In the first half of the current decade technological change comprises a predominant area of research, accounting for about one quarter of the articles published. Despite the increased formalism observed in the 1990s, our results further highlight that the bulk of the research in this field remains empirically led. Furthermore, and quite surprisingly, discussions concerning ICTs do not seem to have been translated so far into a substantial increase in research on structural change-related issues.Structural Change; Bibliometrics; Econlit

Does structure influence growth? A panel data econometric assessment of ‘relatively less developed’ countries, 1979-2003

Neo-Schumpeterian streams of research emphasize the close relationship between changes in economic structure in favour of high-skill and high-tech branches and rapid economic growth. They identify the emergence of a new technological paradigm, strongly based on the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs), in the 1970s, arguing that in such periods of transition and emergence of new techno-economic paradigms the relatively less developed countries have higher opportunities to catch-up. Although this debate is theoretically well documented, the empirics seem to lag behind the theory. In this paper, we contribute to this literature by adding illuminating evidence on the issue. More precisely, we relate the growth experiences of countries which had relatively similar economic structures in the late 1970s, with changes occurring in these countries’ structures between 1979 and 2003. The results reveal a robust relationship between structure and (labour) productivity growth, and lend support to the view that producing (though not user) ICT-related industries are strategic branches of economic activity.Structural change, Economic growth, Technical change

Fatigue detection system to aid in remote work

During the Covid-19 pandemic there was a noticeable surge in the amount of remote workers. In the aftermath of the pandemic working from home still remains a reality for many workers with noticeable impacts on the mental health of people. With the increased stress caused by current situation and the harder time establishing boundaries there was an increase in the overall stress and fatigue in workers, leading to burnouts. Fatigue detection systems are used in several areas, mainly in the automotive industry as a mean to decrease the number of accidents. This research started by approaching the Artificial Intelligence (AI) area and its domains, followed by a study of the current techniques used in order to predict fatigue. With the main ones utilising eye state, facial landmarks, electrocardiogram or heart rate. After a research into existing Fatigue detection systems was done in order to identify the strengths of solutions currently in the market, whether in the automotive industry or other applications. This thesis proposes the creation of a system able to detect fatigue in a user as well as warn him when fatigue levels increase. This system incorporates a webcam analysing the users face and performing eye state detection in order to calculate the percentage of the time the eyes are closed (PERCLOS). Heart rate data was also analysed and a model was developed in order to incorporate this data, the percentage of time the eyes are closed, the program the user has open and time of day in order to predict the level of fatigue. By combining these two different techniques this system can be more effective and more accurate in giving predictions of the level of fatigue. The review of literature showed that the conjunction of these two techniques in predicting fatigue is novelty. The developed system also contains integration with smartwatch technology in order to both harness heart rate data as well as communicate with the user via pop up notifications to inform him when fatigue levels get too high. The conclusion of this work is that eye state detection using Artificial Intelligence can achieve a high accuracy and be a reliable tool in identifying fatigue in an user. The combination of Heart Rate and PERCLOS allows the system to have a higher accuracy as well as not being completely reliant on one sensor. The creation of a fatigue prediction model was hindered by the lack of existent data in order to train a model, a problem that could be fixed with the adoption of the system in a broader scope.Durante a pandemia de Covid-19, houve um aumento notável na quantidade de trabalhadores remotos. No rescaldo da pandemia, trabalhar a partir de casa continua a ser uma realidade para muitos trabalhadores, com impactos visíveis na saúde mental das pessoas. Com o aumento do stresse causado pela situação atual e a dificuldade de estabelecer limites, houve um aumento do stresse geral e da fadiga dos trabalhadores, levando ao esgotamento. Os sistemas de detecção de fadiga são utilizados em diversas áreas, principalmente na indústria automobilística como forma de diminuir o número de acidentes. Este estudo começou por abordar a área de Inteligência Artificial (IA) e os seus domínios, seguida de um estudo das técnicas atuais utilizadas para prever a fadiga. Com os principais utilizando o estado dos olhos, pontos de referência faciais, eletrocardiograma ou frequência cardíaca. Depois foi feita uma pesquisa sobre os sistemas de detecção de fadiga existentes de forma a identificar os pontos fortes das soluções actualmente no mercado, quer seja na indústria automóvel ou outras aplicações. Esta dissertação propõe a criação de um sistema capaz de detectar fadiga num utilizador, bem como alertar quando os níveis de fadiga aumentam. Este sistema incorpora uma webcam que analisa a face do utilizador e realiza a detecção do estado dos olhos para calcular a percentagem de tempo em que os olhos estão fechados (PERCLOS). Os dados de frequência cardíaca também foram analisados e um modelo foi desenvolvido para incorporar estes dados, a percentagem de tempo que os olhos ficam fechados, o programa que o utilizador tem aberto e a hora do dia para prever o nível de fadiga. Ao combinar essas duas técnicas diferentes, este sistema pode ser mais eficaz e mais preciso em fornecer previsões do nível de fadiga. A revisão da literatura mostrou que a conjunção dessas duas técnicas na previsão da fadiga é novidade. O sistema desenvolvido também contém integração com a tecnologia smartwatch para aproveitar os dados da frequência cardíaca e comunicar com o utilizador por meio de notificações pop-up para informá-lo quando os níveis de fadiga se encontrarem altos. A conclusão deste trabalho é que a detecção do estado ocular usando Inteligência Artificial pode alcançar uma alta precisão e ser uma ferramenta confiável na identificação de fadiga num utilizador. A combinação da frequência cardíaca e PERCLOS permite que o sistema tenha maior precisão, além de não depender completamente de um unico sensor. A criação de um modelo de previsão de fadiga foi dificultada pela falta de dados existentes para treinar um modelo, problema que poderia ser colmatado com a adoção do sistema numa população maior

Análise da viabilidade de credenciamento do Centro Tecnológico de Joinville como Instituição Técnica Avaliadora

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Joinville. Bacharelado Interdisciplinar em Mobilidade.Este artigo analisou a viabilidade de credenciamento de laboratórios interdisciplinares de ensino e extensão do Centro Tecnológico de Joinville (CTJ) da UFSC como Instituição Técnica Avaliadora (ITA). O SINAT define os critérios de participação das instituições analisando e avaliando a estrutura organizacional, os recursos humanos existentes e qualificados à avaliar e legitimar o desempenho de produtos e sistemas inovadores; e o perfil técnico dos laboratórios. Por meio de um estudo de caso múltiplo, algumas ITAs nacionais foram identificadas segundo os ensaios de desempenho aplicados e as suas particularidades. Ao identificar as capacidades técnicas dos laboratórios e os recursos humanos disponíveis no CTJ, a análise constatou que os laboratórios atuais não estão adequados para a realização dos ensaios conforme os critérios à ITA. Para que alguns laboratórios sejam credenciados é necessário um investimento na ordem dos R$250.000,00 à compra de equipamentos que possibilitariam a realização de 16 ensaios de avaliação de desempenho diferentes. Uma possível fonte de investimento é a FINEP, através de Chamada Pública, que possibilitaria aplicar em outros laboratórios, como Fenômenos dos Transportes, Mecânicas dos Fluidos e Transferência de Calor, no oferecimento de ensaios promovendo a qualificação dos laboratórios, da equipe técnica envolvida, além de gerar receita à instituição, proporcionando oportunidades de aprendizado aos estudantes e retorno à comunidade.This paper analyzed the feasibility of the accreditation of Teaching and Extension Interdisciplinary Laboratories of the Technological Center of Joinville (TCJ - UFSC) as Technical Evaluation Institution (ITA). The National System of Technical Evaluation (SINAT) defines the participation criteria for institutions by analyzing and evaluating the organizational structure, the instituition's human resources and their qualification to evaluate and legitimize the performance of innovative products and systems; and the technical profile of the laboratories. Through a multiple case study, some national ITAs were identified according to the applied performance tests and its special features. By identifying the technical capabilities of laboratories and human resources available in the TCJ, this study has found that current laboratories are not suitable for conducting the trials according to ITA's criteria. For some laboratories to be accredited, an investment of about R$ 250,000.00 is required to purchase equipment that would enable 16 different performance evaluation trials. FINEP is a potential source of investment, through Public Call. Such investment would allow the application of resources in other teaching and research sectors - Transport Phenomena, Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer - and would enable the realization of of trials, and promote the qualification of the Laboratories and the technical team involved, Furthermore, it would generate income for the institution, opportunities of learning for students and benefits for its community