Utilização de aplicativos Base e Calc do pacote BrOffice.org para criação de sistema de informação de pequeno porte.

Este artigo descreve uma forma de se criar um sistema de informação de pequeno porte usando as ferramentas Calc e Base e, com elas integradas, obtém-se uma ferramenta fácil de se usar e acessível a qualquer pessoa, sem custos. Um caso de estudo é mostrado para exemplificar o uso deste sistema

Quantum and Classical in Adiabatic Computation

Adiabatic transport provides a powerful way to manipulate quantum states. By preparing a system in a readily initialised state and then slowly changing its Hamiltonian, one may achieve quantum states that would otherwise be inaccessible. Moreover, a judicious choice of final Hamiltonian whose groundstate encodes the solution to a problem allows adiabatic transport to be used for universal quantum computation. However, the dephasing effects of the environment limit the quantum correlations that an open system can support and degrade the power of such adiabatic computation. We quantify this effect by allowing the system to evolve over a restricted set of quantum states, providing a link between physically inspired classical optimisation algorithms and quantum adiabatic optimisation. This new perspective allows us to develop benchmarks to bound the quantum correlations harnessed by an adiabatic computation. We apply these to the D-Wave Vesuvius machine with revealing - though inconclusive - results

Statistical physics of fracture and earthquakes

Manifestations of emergent properties in stressed disordered materials are often the result of an interplay of strong perturbations in the stress field around defects. The collective response of a long-ranged correlated multi-component system is an ideal playing field for statistical physics. Hence, many aspects of such collective responses in widely spread length and energy scales can be addressed by tools of statistical physics. In this theme issue some of these aspects are treated from various angles of experiments, simulations and analytical methods, and connected together by their common base of complex-system dynamics

Size effects in statistical fracture

We review statistical theories and numerical methods employed to consider the sample size dependence of the failure strength distribution of disordered materials. We first overview the analytical predictions of extreme value statistics and fiber bundle models and discuss their limitations. Next, we review energetic and geometric approaches to fracture size effects for specimens with a flaw. Finally, we overview the numerical simulations of lattice models and compare with theoretical models.Comment: review article 19 pages, 5 figure

Glucose and Fatty Acid Metabolism in a 3 Tissue In-Vitro Model Challenged with Normo- and Hyperglycaemia

Nutrient balance in the human body is maintained through systemic signaling between different cells and tissues. Breaking down this circuitry to its most basic elements and reconstructing the metabolic network in-vitro provides a systematic method to gain a better understanding of how cross-talk between the organs contributes to the whole body metabolic profile and of the specific role of each different cell type. To this end, a 3-way connected culture of hepatocytes, adipose tissue and endothelial cells representing a simplified model of energetic substrate metabolism in the visceral region was developed. The 3-way culture was shown to maintain glucose and fatty acid homeostasis in-vitro. Subsequently it was challenged with insulin and high glucose concentrations to simulate hyperglycaemia. The aim was to study the capacity of the 3-way culture to maintain or restore normal circulating glucose concentrations in response to insulin and to investigate the effects these conditions on other metabolites involved in glucose and lipid metabolism. The results show that the system’s metabolic profile changes dramatically in the presence of high concentrations of glucose, and that these changes are modulated by the presence of insulin. Furthermore, we observed an increase in E-selectin levels in hyperglycaemic conditions and increased IL-6 concentrations in insulin-free-hyperglycaemic conditions, indicating, respectively, endothelial injury and proinflammatory stress in the challenged 3-way system

Critical Dimensions in Architectural Photography: Contributions to Architectural Knowledge

This paper illustrates and explores three critical dimensions of photography in architecture, each of which informs the production of images, texts, and other artifacts which establish what might be called a building’s media footprint. The paper’s broad goal is to question the extent to which these critical dimensions are relevant to architectural decision-making processes. Acknowledging that such dimensions as the ones examined here rarely predict an architect’s specific design decisions in a transparent manner, the paper discusses not only the decisions made by architects during the process of designing buildings, but the decisions made by critics, visitors, and members of the general public as they engage in activities such as visiting buildings, writing about them and, particularly, photographing them. First, the text discusses the potential of buildings to operate as mechanisms for producing images, in the sense originated by Beatriz Colomina. The question is developed through the analysis of the space of photography – mapping of points of view, directions of view, and fields of view of defined photographic collections. Secondly, it considers photography’s complicity in the canonization of buildings, and specifically, the extent to which photography is responsible for distinguishing between major and minor architectural works. Finally, the essay examines the erosion over time of photography’s historical power to frame when confronted with contemporary technologies of virtual reality and photo realistically rendered digital models. Each of these critical dimensions, or concepts, develops a specific aspect of how photographic information about buildings is organized, structured, and disseminated, and is thus only part of the larger project of architectural epistemology, which inquires into this wider field. This will be done through an examination of the Mies van der Rohe-designed Commons Building at ITT in Chicago and the evolution of its relationship with architectural photography and photographic representation – both on its own terms and through the prism of the Rem Koolhaas-designed McCormick Tribune Student Center, which adds to and incorporates the Commons Building. Until the end of the twentieth century, the Commons Building on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology was generally considered one of Mies van der Rohe’s lesser works. Reportedly neglected by its own architect during the design process, and frequently marginalized in academic discussions of the campus, when mentioned at all the building was often cited as an unrefined prototype of Crown Hall. This discourse took a new direction when in 1998, Rem Koolhaas/OMA won a design competition for a student center on the IIT campus: uniquely among the competition entries, Koolhaas’s design incorporated the Commons Building within a new context – what ultimately became the McCormick Tribune Campus Center (MTCC). When critics concluded that the incorporation of the Commons Building into the larger whole could compromise its integrity as an exemplar of Mies’s work, the building became the object of renewed interest and controversy. The two projects considered here show a clear evolution in architecture’s relationship with the photographic image. Specifically, the history of the Commons Building can be traced through photographs: during and shortly following its construction, the building was photographed as part of Mies’s own attention to publicity; it was documented as part of historical analyses; and over time it was visited and photographed by casual and amateur photographers. Following the competition results, photographs of the Commons Building were strategically deployed by both proponents and critics of Koolhaas’s design. Contemporary photographs of the building appear in architectural and campus guidebooks and on websites such as Flickr.com. Examining the ways in which photographs of the Commons Building appear in these various contexts allows discussion of the critical dimensions identified above and permits us to trace the evolution of the mutually reinforcing relationship between architecture and photography

The Sicilian network of biological therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: preliminary data on efficacy .

Background and aim: The monitoring of appropriateness and costs of biological therapy in Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a relevant need. We aimed to evaluate appropriateness, efficacy and safety of biological therapy in IBD in Sicily through a web based network of prescribing centers. Material and methods: The Sicilian network for the monitoring of biological therapy in IBD is composed by a super Hub coordinator center and five Hub plus ten Spoke centers. From January 2013 all IBD patients starting a biological agent (incident cases) or already on treatment (prevalent cases) were entered in a web based software. Herein we report data on remission and response after twelve weeks of biological therapy, and side effects until the end of follow-up of incident cases. Results: From January 2013 to June 2016, 1475 patients were included. Complete data were available in 1338 cases (983 with Crohn’s disease [CD], 345 with ulcerative colitis [UC], and 10 with unclassified colitis). Incident cases were 956 (673 CD, 274 UC, and 9 unclassified colitis). Considering that 12% of patients experienced more than one line of therapy, a total of 1098 treatments were reported. Adalimumab was used in 543 CD patients, in 69 UC patients, and in 4 with unclassified colitis. Infliximab was prescribed in 221 CD patients (64 biosimilars), in 226 UC patients (41 biosimilars), and in 5 patients with unclassified colitis. Golimumab was prebscribed in 29 UC patients, and in 1 patient with unclassified colitis. After twelve weeks, the rate of response with Adalimumab was 46% and the rate of remission was 38% in CD, while the rate of response with Infliximab originator was 48% and the rate of remission 42% (biosimilars: 37% and 50%, respectively). In UC the rate of response with Adalimumab was 46% and the rate of remission was 38%, the rate of response with Infliximab was 41% and the rate of remission 45% (biosimilars: 25% and 64%, respectively), while the rate of response with Golimumab was 47% and the rate of remission was 27%. Overall, the rate of side effects was 17% (9.2% with Adalimumab, 20% with Infliximab originator, 15% with biosimilars, and 17% with Golimumab). Conclusions: In one of the largest series of IBD patients on biological therapy reported to date, the rates of remission and response after twelve weeks were comparable to data from literature, and similar between the different biologics. Efficacy and safety of biosimilars were analogous to those reported for infliximab originator

Integration of multiple platforms for the analysis of multifluorescent marking technology applied to pediatric GBM and dipg

The intratumor heterogeneity represents one of the most difficult challenges for the development of effective therapies to treat pediatric glioblastoma (pGBM) and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). These brain tumors are composed of heterogeneous cell subpopulations that coexist and cooperate to build a functional network responsible for their aggressive phenotype. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms sustaining such network will be crucial for the identification of new therapeutic strategies. To study more in-depth these mechanisms, we sought to apply the Multifluorescent Marking Technology. We generated multifluorescent pGBM and DIPG bulk cell lines randomly expressing six different fluorescent proteins and from which we derived stable optical barcoded single cell-derived clones. In this study, we focused on the application of the Multifluorescent Marking Technology in 2D and 3D in vitro/ex vivo culture systems. We discuss how we integrated different multimodal fluorescence analysis platforms, identifying their strengths and limitations, to establish the tools that will enable further studies on the intratumor heterogeneity and interclonal interactions in pGBM and DIPG

A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the RASGRF2 Gene Is Associated with Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis in Men

Background Genetic polymorphisms in the RAS gene family are associated with different diseases, which may include alcohol-related disorders. Previous studies showed an association of the allelic variant rs26907 in RASGRF2 gene with higher alcohol intake. Additionally, the rs61764370 polymorphism in the KRAS gene is located in a binding site for the let-7 micro-RNA family, which is potentially involved in alcohol-induced inflammation. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the association between these two polymorphisms and susceptibility to alcoholism or alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Methods We enrolled 301 male alcoholic patients and 156 healthy male volunteers in this study. Polymorphisms were genotyped by using TaqMan® PCR assays for allelic discrimination. Allelic and genotypic frequencies were compared between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the inheritance model. Results The A allele of the RASGRF2 polymorphism (rs26907) was significantly more prevalent among alcoholic patients with cirrhosis (23.2%) compared to alcoholic patients without ALD (14.2%). This difference remained significant in the group of patients with alcohol dependence (28.8% vs. 14.3%) but not in those with alcohol abuse (15.1% vs. 14.4%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the A allele of this polymorphism (AA or GA genotype) was associated with alcoholic cirrhosis both in the total group of alcoholics (odds ratio [OR]: 2.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32–4.11; P = 0.002) and in the group of patients with alcohol dependence (OR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.50–6.20; P = 0.001). Allelic distributions of the KRAS polymorphism (rs61764370) did not differ between the groups. Conclusions To our knowledge, this genetic association study represents the first to show an association of the RASGRF2 G>A (rs26907) polymorphism with ALD in men, particularly in the subgroup of patients with AD. The findings suggest the potential relevance of the RAS gene family in alcoholism and ALD