Product Lifecycle Management: sustainability and knowledge management as keys in a complex system of product development

The PLM process is developing methodologies to support sustainable production during the whole product lifecycle. The present research makes a focus on the first phase product development (the design phase) that is significant to set future costs and environmental impacts. This research analyzes important tools that could be used by PLM to formalize knowledge for sustainable new products development in a company. It offers an overview and compares different approaches to share knowledge, to carry out innovation and to reduce CO2 emissions, materials and energy, as well as developing regulation compliance treated as a design requirement from the conceptual phase through the entire product lifecycle.Peer Reviewe

A characterization of regular and exact completions of pure existential completions

The notion of existential completion in the context of Lawvere's doctrines was introduced by the second author in his PhD thesis, and it turned out to be a restriction to faithful fibrations of Peter Hofstra's construction used to characterize Dialectica fibrations. The notions of regular and exact completions of elementary and existential doctrines were brought up in recent works by the first author with F. Pasquali and P. Rosolini, inspired by those done by M. Hyland, P. Johnstone and A. Pitts on triposes. Here, we provide a characterization of the regular and exact completions of (pure) existential completions of elementary doctrines by showing that these amount to the $\mathsf{reg}/\mathsf{lex}$ and $\mathsf{ex}/\mathsf{lex}$-completions, respectively, of the category of predicates of their generating elementary doctrines. This characterization generalizes a previous result obtained by the first author with F. Pasquali and P. Rosolini on doctrines equipped with Hilbert's $\epsilon$-operators. Relevant examples of applications of our characterization, quite different from those involving doctrines with Hilbert's $\epsilon$-operators, include the regular syntactic category of the regular fragments of first-order logic (and his effectivization) as well as the construction of Joyal's Arithmetic Universes

Quantifying the tension between the Higgs mass and (g-2)_mu in the CMSSM

Supersymmetry has been often invoqued as the new physics that might reconcile the experimental muon magnetic anomaly, a_mu, with the theoretical prediction (basing the computation of the hadronic contribution on e^+ e^- data). However, in the context of the CMSSM, the required supersymmetric contributions (which grow with decreasing supersymmetric masses) are in potential tension with a possibly large Higgs mass (which requires large stop masses). In the limit of very large m_h supersymmetry gets decoupled, and the CMSSM must show the same discrepancy as the SM with a_mu . But it is much less clear for which size of m_h does the tension start to be unbearable. In this paper, we quantify this tension with the help of Bayesian techniques. We find that for m_h > 125 GeV the maximum level of discrepancy given current data (~ 3.3 sigma) is already achieved. Requiring less than 3 sigma discrepancy, implies m_h < 120 GeV. For a larger Higgs mass we should give up either the CMSSM model or the computation of a_mu based on e^+ e^-; or accept living with such inconsistency

Design Extremo e Adaptativo

The design process is influenced by several variables and is based upon diverse resources. Time and budget determine the limitations of the strategies which define product development. Designers are increasingly facing new challenges/ problems, for example, they must consider the brief, new local and global changes, new trends, and the knowledge and technological tools available to satisfy, anticipate or guide the needs of the users. Formal and informal approaches are used to gather information, gain better understanding and reduce the distance between users and designers in order to identify the best opportunities. Decision-making is based on different tools depending on whether the demand is local, national or international. The paper describes EAD (Extreme Adaptive Design), a design methodology with the aim of providing sustainable bio-inspired solutions which can be used for developing new design concepts related to the anticipation of extreme weather conditions due to potential natural disasters. Visionary designers or students can use the methodology for a better understanding of present and future global challenges, for managing conceptualization within the parameters of efficiency, for stimulating systemic reasoning and for developing new bio-inspired solutions.Keywords: sustainability, biomimicry, eco-design.O processo de design é influenciado por diversas variáveis e é baseado em vários recursos. O tempo e o orçamento determinam as limitações das estratégias que definem o desenvolvimento do produto. Os designers estão cada vez mais enfrentando novos desafios/problemas; por exemplo, devem considerar as breves mudanças locais e globais, as novas tendências e os conhecimentos e as ferramentas tecnológicas disponíveis para satisfazer, antecipar ou orientar as necessidades dos usuários. Abordagens formais e informais são usadas para coletar informações, obter uma melhor compreensão e reduzir a distância entre usuários e designers, a fim de identificar as melhores oportunidades. A tomada de decisão baseia- se em diferentes ferramentas, dependendo se a demanda é local, nacional ou internacional. O artigo descreve EAD (Extreme Adaptive Design), uma metodologia de projeto com o objetivo de fornecer soluções sustentáveis de bio-inspiração que podem ser usadas para desenvolver novos conceitos de design relacionados com a antecipação de condições climáticas extremas devido a potenciais desastres naturais. Designers visionários ou alunos podem utilizar a metodologia para uma melhor compreensão dos desafios globais presentes e futuros, gerenciar conceituação dentro dos parâmetros de eficiência, estimular o raciocínio sistêmico e desenvolver novas soluções bio-inspiradas.Palavras-chave: sustentabilidade, biomimética, eco-design

A experiência estética como recurso de expressão do aluno trabalhador

Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Alberto PedraCoorientadora: Profª Rosiliza Scuissiato AgibertDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curso de Pós-Graduação em EducaçãoInclui referências: p. 140-144Resumo: O presente estudo focaliza a história do ensino artístico no Brasil, do Império até a atualidade, salientando, nesse percurso, os padrões ideológicos e econômicos que influenciaram 0 seu desenvolvimento. Sob os princípios da tradição neoclássica, dos ideários positivista e liberal e na tentativa de atender as exigências da industrialização, delineou-se o perfil do ensino brasileiro até a República (1889), cujos resquícios adentraram o século XX. A ênfase excessiva a razão e a teoria, acabou por desvalorizar o aspecto expressivo da arte e, consequentemente, o núcleo afetivo da personalidade. Apesar de a Semana de Arte Moderna, em 1922, ter representado um aspecto renovador, devido ao incentivo dado á liberação dos fatores emocionais, a tendência do nosso ensino oficial continuou acentuando os valores pragmáticos e técnicos. O pensamento artístico brasileiro delineou-se em favor de um processo elitizante, reduzindo a arte a um símbolo de distinção e refinamento, ao invés de reconhecer o seu papel no desenvolvimento do homem integral e na construção social da realidade. Ao se considerar a arte como atividade própria de uma minoria privilegiada, acelerou-se a visão dicotômica da educação brasileira. De um lado, um pensamento elitista que favorece a educação intelectual e racional, onde a arte não é vista em seu valor autônomo e expressivo, mas como complemento de uma educação privilegiada e, portanto, dentro de uma visão superficial. De outro lado, um processo educacional pragmático e utilitarista, reservado ao povo, onde a atividade artística é vista na função de apoio as finalidades do capitalismo industrial e, portanto, submissa aos interesses dos países dominantes, o que intensifica ainda mais nossa situação de dependência cultural. Tais concepções não refletem a necessária autonomia de uma consciência participante, dificultam a compreensão dos vínculos entre a arte e a construção significativa da cultura e muito menos reconhecem o valor da pessoalidade neste empreendimento. E dentro deste contexto que podemos situar o sistema implantado pela Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional em 1961, como também o ensino gerado pela legislação hoje vigente: Lei 5692/71. O pensamento inadequado em relação a arte, pois, fruto do desconhecimento e do desinteresse relativos a sua natureza essencialmente una e humana, acabou por gerar, desde o passado, uma práxis educativa deformada em termos de consciência pessoal e realidade social, impedindo-se o processo interativo entre a arte e a educação. A análise critica, mas também projetiva, aqui elaborada, auxilia no esclarecimento das novas tendências da Arte-Educação, sob as bases filosóficas humanísticas. Nossa atenção recai, em especial, sobre a tendência essencialista, porque busca na epistemologia da arte e na natureza do processo artístico, o que se pode chamar de fundamentos estéticos da arte-educação. Reconhecendo a importância do ato expressivo como parte da vida e pensando em uma ação educativa consistente, buscamos refletir a concepção de experiência, destacando pontos fundamentais que a caracterizam em sentido pleno. Dentre eles, os seguintes: . A experiência em seu sentido pleno apresenta qualidade estética, atributo de sua unidade e coerência. . O estético está ligado a clareza e intensidade, que definem uma experiência completa. . O equilíbrio e a interpenetração entre os aspectos prático, intelectual e emocional garantem a totalidade da experiência, traduzida na interação do ser com os eventos e objetos de sua compreensão. . A experiência estética, pois, esta totalmente sincronizada ao autoconhecimento e as relações interpessoais. Apoiando-se na ideia do "ser - no - mundo" e em "estar- no - mundo - com o outro", o pensamento fenomenológico aprofunda o significado da experiência estética, ao atribuir um caráter ontológico e interacional a expressão e interpretação humanas. . A obra de arte e um objeto estético, quando realiza sua finalidade intrínseca que corresponde a sua vocação. Por consequência, a intencionalidade presente no ato de criação e na contemplação do objeto estético estabelece a norma da experiência estética. . A intencionalidade permite a comunicação originaria que liga o artista que cria a obra realizada, como também a ela, o espectador, estabelecendo, pois, o liame entre o sujeito e o objeto. A comunicação que denota, funda uma comunidade entre os homens, seres da mesma raça. . O momento estético e dialético, quer dizer, traz a revelação da verdade, através de um questionamento capaz de desocultá-la. . Por sabermos que a sensibilidade e a consciência estéticas desenvolvem-se no ponto de equilíbrio entre as esferas humanas, podemos dizer que a cultura estética une as forças sensíveis e racionais do ser humano, fazendo da experiência um exercício de expressão e liberdade.Abstract: This study deals with the teaching of art in Brazil, from the Empire up to modern times, and with special attention to the ideological and economic factors which influenced its development. From the beginnings of the neo-classical tradition of the positive and liberal idealists, and in the attempt to meet the demands of industrialization, the outline of Brazilian teaching was defined up the Republic, whose demands continued into the 20th century. The excessive emphasis on reason and theory resulted in an erosion of the expressive aspect of art, and consequently of any effective nucleus of proponents. In spite of the Week of Modern Art, in 1922, which had represented a renovating factor, thanks to the incentive given to the liberation of emotional factors, the tendency of our official teaching continues to accentuate pragmatic and technical values. Brazilian artistic thinking defined itself in favour of a process of elitism, reducing art to a symbol of distinction and refinement, instead of recognizing its role in the development of the inner man and in the social construction of reality. As art was considered the correct activity of a privileged minority, the vision of a divided system in Brazilian education was accelerated. On the one hand there was and elitist mode of thought which favored rational and intellectual education, in which art was not valued for its own intrinsic or expressive worth but as a complement to privileged education, and was therefore treated superficially. On the other hand, an educational process, pragmatic and utilitarian, reserved for the people, in which artistic activity is seen in function of furthering the ends of industrial capitalism, and so is subsumed to the interests of the dominant countries. This intensifies even more our situation of cultural dependency. These observations do not reflect the necessary autonomy of a participating consciousness, making in harder to recognize the links between art and the significant construction of culture, and recognizing even less the value of personality in this undertaking. It is within the context described that we can locate the system imposed by the Law of Directives and Bases of National Education in 1961, as also the teaching generated by the current legislation: Law 5692/71. The inadequate thinking about art is the result of ignorance and lack of interest in nature, which is essential one and human, and has ended up generating, from the past, an educational praxis which is deformed in terms of personal conscience and social reality, and which impedes the interactive process between art and education. The critical analysis, which is also forward-looking, here outlined, helps to clarify the new trends of Art-Education over the foundations of philosophical humanism. Our attention is particularly drawn to the essentialist tendency, because it seeks in the epistemology of art and in the nature of the artistic process, what can be called the aesthetic fundamentals of art-education. Recognizing the importance of the expressive act as a part of like, and thinking of consistent educational action, we are seeking to reflect the conception of experience, highlighting the fundamental points which characterize it, using common sense. Among these are the following: Experience in its full sense presents an aesthetic quality, which flows from its unity and coherence. Aesthetics in connected with the clarity and the intensity which characterize a complete experience. The balance and the interconnections between the practical aspects, intellectual and emotional, guarantee the totality of the experience, translated into the integration of the being with the events and objects of its comprehension. The aesthetic experience, therefore, is completely synchronized with self-discovery and with interpersonal relationships. Based on the idea of "Being-in-the-world", and on "Being-in-the-world-with-another", phenomenological thought deepens the significance of the aesthetic experience, by attributing an ontological and interactive character to human expression and interpretation. The work of art is an aesthetic object when its intrinsic objective is realized, which corresponds to its vocation. Therefore, the intentionality which is present in the creative act and in the contemplation of the aesthetic object establishes the norm of aesthetic experience. Intentionality permits the original communication which connects the artist who creates the work, as well as the work itself, to the viewer, establishing in this way a union between subject and object. Communication which denotes forges a community between men, beings of the same race. The aesthetic movement is dialectic, which means, in brings about the revelation of truth through a questioning which is capable of revealing it. As we know that sensibility and aesthetic consciousness develop on the point of equilibrium between human spheres, we can say that aesthetic culture unites the sensible and the rational powers of the human being, extracting from experience an of expression and liberty

bio inspired design methodology

The necessity to be competitive in the market pushes companies to increase the degree of innovation and at the same time to think about new products in terms of durability and efficiency. New product development is part of a strategic process called product lifecycle management, which starts with the idea generation phase. Considering this first step, for the reasons of the great impact in reduction of costs and the potential high return of investment, the goal of this research is to formulate a methodology which might be used during the idea generation phase to create innovative concepts. This methodology focuses on geometrical definition and problem solving. It takes its inspiration from biological systems to maximize durability and efficiency, and from technical systems to drive innovation. It can be used in virtual and shared environments to support designers, innovators and process developers

Functional Role of Non-Muscle Myosin II in Microglia: An Updated Review.

Myosins are a remarkable superfamily of actin-based motor proteins that use the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to translocate actin filaments and to produce force. Myosins are abundant in different types of tissues and involved in a large variety of cellular functions. Several classes of the myosin superfamily are expressed in the nervous system; among them, non-muscle myosin II (NM II) is expressed in both neurons and non-neuronal brain cells, such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, endothelial cells, and microglia. In the nervous system, NM II modulates a variety of functions, such as vesicle transport, phagocytosis, cell migration, cell adhesion and morphology, secretion, transcription, and cytokinesis, as well as playing key roles during brain development, inflammation, repair, and myelination functions. In this review, we will provide a brief overview of recent emerging roles of NM II in resting and activated microglia cells, the principal regulators of immune processes in the central nervous system (CNS) in both physiological and pathological conditions. When stimulated, microglial cells react and produce a number of mediators, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines, free radicals, and nitric oxide, that enhance inflammation and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Inhibition of NM II could be a new therapeutic target to treat or to prevent CNS diseases

Beneficial Effects of Spirulina Consumption on Brain Health

Spirulina is a microscopic, filamentous cyanobacterium that grows in alkaline water bodies. It is extensively utilized as a nutraceutical food supplement all over the world due to its high levels of functional compounds, such as phycocyanins, phenols and polysaccharides, with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulating properties both in vivo and in vitro. Several scientific publications have suggested its positive effects in various pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, obesity, hypertension, tumors and inflammatory diseases. Lately, different studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective role of Spirulina on the development of the neural system, senility and a number of pathological conditions, including neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. This review focuses on the role of Spirulina in the brain, highlighting how it exerts its beneficial anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, acting on glial cell activation, and in the prevention and/or progression of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Multiple Sclerosis; due to these properties, Spirulina could be considered a potential natural drug

CXCR4 pos circulating progenitor cells coexpressing monocytic and endothelial markers correlating with fibrotic clinical features are present in the peripheral blood of patients affected by systemic sclerosis

There is still controversy regarding the role of circulating endothelial and progenitor cells (CECs/CEPs) in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Using a sequential Boolean gating strategy based on a 4-color flow cytometric protocol, an increased number of CD31(pos)/CD184(pos)(CXCR4)/CD34(pos)/CD45(pos) and CD31(pos)/CD117(pos) (c-kit-R) /CD34(pos)/ CD45(pos) hematopoietic circulating progenitor cells (HCPCs) was detected in SSc patients compared with healthy subjects. In SSc, no circulating mature and progenitor endothelial cells were observed, while an enhanced generation of erythroid progenitor cells was found to be correlated with the presence of CD117+ HCPCs. The presence of freshly detected CXCR4posHCPC was correlated either to the in vitro cultured spindle-shaped endothelial like cells (SELC) with an endo/myelomonocytic profile or to SDF-1 and VEGF serum level. These data are related to more fibrotic clinical features of the disease, thus supporting a possible role of these cells in fibrosis