Enabling the Collaborative Definition of DSMLs

International audienceSoftware development processes are collaborative in nature. Neglecting the key role of end-users leads to software that does not satisfy their needs. This collaboration becomes specially important when creating Domain-Specific Modeling Languages (DSMLs), which are (modeling) languages specifically designed to carry out the tasks of a particular domain. While end-users are actually the experts of the domain for which a DSML is developed, their participation in the DSML specification process is still rather limited nowadays. In this paper we propose a more community-aware language development process by enabling the active participation of all community members (both developers and end-users of the DSML) from the very beginning. Our proposal is based on a DSML itself, called Collaboro, which allows representing change proposals on the DSML design and discussing (and tracing back) possible solutions, comments and decisions arisen during the collaboration

Imobilização prolongada e remobilização da articulação fêmoro-tíbio-patelar de ratos: estudo clínico e microscópico Experimental immobilization and remobilization rat knee joints: clinical and microscopic study

Trinta e quatro ratos foram alocados em quatro grupos experimentais: sem imobilização (G1), com imobilização do joelho direito por 45 dias (G2), com imobilização e remobilização com atividade livre por cinco semanas (G3), imobilização e remobilização com atividade livre e natação por cinco semanas (G4). A imobilização interferiu negativamente na marcha e amplitude articular e o G4 apresentou melhor evolução na marcha nos cinco primeiros dias, em relação ao G3. Após esse período, a evolução foi similar. Os componentes do G2 apresentaram rigidez articular, não observada em G3 e G4. Histologicamente, a imobilização promoveu aumento da espessura da cápsula articular, evidenciada pela presença do tecido conjuntivo fibroso que substituiu o tecido adiposo no G2, mas em menor proporção em G3 e G4. A imobilização determinou perda de proteoglicanos da matriz cartilaginosa, aumento do número de condrócitos, dispostos de forma irregular, aumento da espessura da cartilagem calcificada, irregularidade da superfície articular, proliferação de tecido conjuntivo no espaço intra-articular e aumento da espessura do osso subcondral. O G3 apresentou maior número de alterações na cartilagem e osso subcondral, quando comparado com G4. A imobilização degenerou as células sinoviais, indicando diminuição da produção de fluido sinovial e do suprimento nutricional à cartilagem. Tanto a atividade livre quanto sua associação com a natação favoreceram o retorno das condições biomecânicas e da cápsula articular, anteriores à imobilização.<br>Thirty-four rats were randomly allocated into one of four experimental groups: without immobilization (G1), immobilization of the right knee joint for 45 days (G2), immobilization and remobilization with free activity for 5 weeks (G3), and immobilization and remobilization with free activity and swimming program for 5 weeks (G4). The immobilization was prejudicial to march and flexibility articular. Animals from G4 showed a better march evolution on the first five days as compared to those from G3. After that periods, march evolution were similar in both G3 and G4. Animals from G2 showed rigid joint while in those from G3 and G4 the articular movement was close to normal. The histological analysis pointed out that immobilization led to increase in articular capsule thickness evidenced by the presence of fibrous connective tissue replacing adipose tissue in G2, but proportionally less in G3 and G4. It was observed that immobilization determined loss of proteoglycans from the cartilaginous matrix, increase in the number of regularly arranged condrocytes, increase in calcified cartilage thickness, irregularity in the articular surface, proliferation of connective tissue in the intra-articular space and increase in subchondral bone thickness. The animals from G3 showed a greater number of alterations in both articular cartilage and subchondral bone, as compared to those from G4. Immobilization degenerated synovial cells indicating decreased synovial fluid production and reduced nutritional supplying to the cartilage. The free cage activity and its association with swimming influenced positively the return of biomechanics and articular capsule morphologic conditions to those before immobilization

Combining ability of maize inbred lines evaluated in three environments in Brazil Capacidade de combinação de linhagens de milho avaliadas em três ambientes do Brasil

For tropical areas like Brazil, genotype x environment interaction is an important source of variation. Our objectives were to examine the combining abilities and their interaction with environments in ten selected maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines in diallel crosses and to identify candidates for promising hybrid combinations. Crosses and checks were evaluated through a 7 x 7 triple lattice design at three locations during the 1984/85 season. Several agronomic traits were evaluated, but here only data on ear yield are discussed. Yield data were adjusted for stand variation (correction to 50 plants per plot) and grain moisture (15.5%). Data for ear yield were analysed using an adaptation of Griffing’s method IV for complete diallel crosses, and experiments were repeated in several environments. The means of the crosses over all environments ranged from 6.6 t/ha to 10.3 t/ha. The combining ability analysis of diallel data across environments showed highly significant (P<0.01) effects for environment, general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), and GCA x environment interaction. The SCA x environment interaction was not significant. Results showed that both GCA and SCA were important for this diallel cross. Considering the 13 hybrids that showed higher yields than the commercial hybrid controls, contributions by GCA and SCA effects were 56% and 44%, respectively. On the other hand, selecting only the best five hybrids, SCA effects were always more important than GCA effects for each environment and over all environments.<br>Em regiões tropicais a interação genótipo x ambiente é uma importante fonte de variação. Esse estudo teve por objetivos avaliar em cruzamentos dialélicos as capacidades de combinação e suas interações com ambientes e identificar as combinações híbridas mais promissoras entre dez linhagens selecionadas de milho (Zea mays L.). Os híbridos e as testemunhas foram avaliados no delineamento látice triplo 7 x 7 em três ambientes durante o ano agrícola de 1984/85. Nesse trabalho são discutidos apenas os dados de produção de grãos, os quais foram corrigidos para a variação de estande (50 plantas por parcela) e umidade de grão (15,5%). Os dados de peso de espigas foram analisados utilizando-se uma adaptação do método IV de Griffing, no qual os cruzamentos obtidos no dialélico completo são avaliados em vários ambientes. A média dos híbridos considerando todos os ambientes variou de 6,6 t/ha a 10,3 t/ha. Na análise dialélica conjunta foram detectadas diferenças altamente significativas (P<0,01) para ambientes, capacidade geral de combinação (CGC), capacidade específica de combinação (CEC) e para a interação CGC x ambientes; a interação CEC x ambientes não foi significativa. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que tanto CGC como CEC foram importantes para esse conjunto de híbridos. Para os 13 híbridos mais produtivos as contribuições dos efeitos da CGC e CEC foram 56% e 44%, respectivamente. Por outro lado, tomando-se apenas os cinco melhores híbridos, os efeitos da CEC foram sempre mais expressivos em relação aos efeitos da CGC, para cada híbrido e na média dos ambientes

Timeline Localization

International audienceThe research findings provide evidence that time-oriented data visualizations can contribute to faster information processing, bet-ter understanding and improved recall. Thus, they are used in many application domains – medicine, law enforcement, traffic and navigation control to name but a few. Simultaneously, human's time perception varies depending inter alia on culture, language, personal experience and situational factors. Although, the differences caused by the aforemen-tioned aspects were acknowledged and addressed in the Human Com-puter Interaction (HCI) field for decades their impact on time-oriented data visualizations was largely neglected. To fill this gap, we investigate the influence of time spatializations (or-ganization of time along axes) on the response time and accuracy of inferences based on time-oriented data visualizations. Moreover, we ex-amine users' preferences toward different time arrangements. Our find-ings show that user-adapted organization of time along axes can speed up the decision-making process and increase the user experience