UMA ABORDAGEM MULTICRITÉRIO PARA A SELEÇÃO DE FERRAMENTAS DE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

This article describes the application of Multi-attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) to select a Business Intelligence (BI) tool. To accomplish this goal, we developed a case study of a BI project in the Brazilian branch of an insurance and financial products multinational company. The weights of the MAUT utility function were defined using the Swing Weighting technique. The analysis of collected data revealed the benefits and limitations of adopting a formal decision support procedure, such as the MAUT method. Overall, it was observed that the application of MAUT contributed greatly to increase the objectivity and transparency in decision making. In addition, the method was fairly intuitive and easy to master by the decision agents. It also helped to focus the interactions of these agents, reducing conflicts and guiding the analysis. The main limitations observed were the restrictions on gathering information about the problem, the composition of the team responsible for selecting the tool, the a priori exclusion of some alternatives, and rationality and quantification assumptions that are inherent to MAUT.Este artigo descreve a aplicação de uma metodologia de apoio multi-critério à decisão na seleção de soluções de Business Intelligence, explicitando as principais vantagens e limitações da sua adoção no contexto empresarial. Para isso, foi conduzido um estudo de caso sobre um projeto de BI realizado numa empresa multinacional que atua nos ramos de seguros, previdência privada, capitalização, fundos de pensão e gestão de recursos financeiros. O processo de definição dos pesos da função utilidade do MAUT foi feito por meio da técnica Swing Weighting. A análise dos dados coletados evidencia benefícios e limitações da adoção de um procedimento formal de apoio a decisão. De forma geral, observou-se que a aplicação do MAUT contribuiu sobremaneira para aumentar a objetividade e transparência no processo decisório. Além disso, o método mostrou-se razoavelmente intuitivo e de fácil domínio por parte dos decisores. Ajudou também a dar foco às interações desses agentes, reduzindo os conflitos e orientando as análises realizadas. Como principais limitações, destacam-se as restrições impostas à coleta de informações sobre o problema, a composição da equipe responsável pela seleção da ferramenta, a exclusão a priori de algumas alternativas, e as premissas de racionalidade e metrificação inerentes ao MAUT

Capillaria hepatica-induced septal fibrosis in rats: a contribution to the study of liver fibrogenesis

INTRODUCTION: Septal fibrosis of the liver regularly develops in rats infected with the nematode Capillaria hepatica. Curative treatment of the infection prevents the development of septal fibrosis when intervention occurs up to postinfection day (PID) 15, but not later. The present investigation aimed to demonstrate which parasitic factors are present when the process of septal fibrosis can no longer be prevented by curative treatment. METHODS: Wistar rats were infected with 600 embryonated eggs of C. hepatica administered by gavage and treated with ivermectin and mebendazole in separate groups at PIDs 10, 12, 15, 17 or 20. Rats from each group and their nontreated controls, were killed and examined 40 days after the end of treatment. RESULTS: Findings by PID 15 were compatible with the stage of complete maturation of infection, when worms and eggs were fully developed and a complex host-parasite multifocal necroinflammatory reaction showed greater intensity, but with no signs of septal fibrosis, which appeared from PID 17 onward. CONCLUSIONS: Since the worms spontaneously died by PID 15, not only septal fibrosis production, but also its maintenance and further development appeared dependent on the presence of eggs, which were the only parasitic factor remaining thereafter