A Human-centric AI-driven Framework for Exploring Large and Complex Datasets

Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HCAI) is a new frontier of research at the intersection between HCI and AI. It fosters an innovative vision of human-centred intelligent systems, which are systems that take advantage of computer features, such as powerful algorithms, big data management, advanced sensors and that are useful and usable for people, providing high levels of automation and enabling high levels of human control. This position paper presents our ongoing research aiming to extend the HCAI framework for better supporting designers in creating AI-based systems

Eficiência agronômica de tecnologias de tratamento da ureia na cultura do algodão.

A cultura do algodão utiliza grande quantidade de fertilizantes nitrogenadas no processo produtivo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar tecnologias de tratamento da ureia para aumento da sua eficiência, no algodão. Avaliou-se o efeito de cinco fertilizantes nitrogenados em três doses, sob delineamento fatorial, além de um tratamento controle sem adubação nitrogenada, em duas safras no Mato Grosso, no rendimento de algodão em caroço, no número de maças, no peso de capulhos, na altura final e população de plantas. As doses de N avaliadas foram 0, 60, 90 e 120 kg ha-1, correspondentes à 0, 50, 75 e 100% da dose recomendada, respectivamente. Os parâmetros avaliados foram alterados positivamente pelas doses, mas não pelas tecnologias de tratamento da ureia, em ambas as safras. As tecnologias de tratamento para aumento da eficiência da ureia não permitem reduzir a dose de N recomendada, mas aumenta a eficiência agronômica na dose recomendada, em comparação com a ureia comum

Families_Share: digital and social innovation for work–life balance

Purpose: The European H2020 Families_Share project aims at offering a grass-root approach and a co-designed platform supporting families for sharing time and tasks related to childcare, parenting, after-school and leisure activities and other household tasks. To achieve this objective, the Families_Share project has been built on current practices which are already leveraging on mutual help and support among families, such as Time Banks, Social Streets and self-organizing networks of parents active at the neighbourhood level and seek to harness the potential of ICT networks and mobile technologies to increase the effectiveness of participatory innovation. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the Families_Share methodology and platform, as well as the results obtained by several partecipating communities in different European countries. Design/methodology/approach: This paper discusses how the Families Share approach (CAPS project, Horizon 2020) is bringing the sharing economy to childcare. Families Share developed a co-caring approach and a co-designed digital welfare platform to support parents with sharing time and tasks related to childcare, after-school and leisure activities. Families Share conducted two iterative pilot experiments and related socio-economic evaluations in six European cities. More than 3,000 citizens were engaged in the co-design process through their local community organizations and more than 1,700 parents and children actively experimented with the approach by organizing collaborative childcare activities. The authors discuss the challenges and solutions of co-designing a socio-technical approach aimed at facilitating socially innovative childcare models, and how the Families Share approach, based on technology-supported co-production of childcare, may provide a new sustainable welfare model for municipalities and companies with respect to life––work balance. Findings: The authors discuss the challenges and solutions of co-designing a technological tool aimed at facilitating socially innovative childcare models, and how the Families Share approach may provide a new sustainable welfare model for municipalities and companies with respect to work–life balance. Originality/value: As a main difference with state-of-the-art proposals, Families_Share is aimed to provide support to networks of parents in the organization of self-managed activities, this way being orthogonal with respect either to social-network functionalities or to supply and demand services. Furthermore, Families_Share has been based on a participative approach for both the ICT platform and the overall structure

Aged gastrocnemius muscle of mice positively responds to a late onset adapted physical training

Introduction: A regular physical training is known to contribute to preserve muscle mass and strength, maintaining structure and function of neural and vascular compartments and preventing muscle insulin resistance and inflammation. However, physical activity is progressively reduced during aging causing mobility limitations and poor quality of life. Although physical exercise for rehabilitation purposes (e.g., after fractures or cardiovascular events) or simply aiming to counteract the development of sarcopenia is frequently advised by physicians, nevertheless few data are available on the targets and the global effects on the muscle organ of adapted exercise especially if started at old age.Methods: To contribute answering this question for medical translational purposes, the proteomic profile of the gastrocnemius muscle was analyzed in 24-month-old mice undergoing adapted physical training on a treadmill for 12 weeks or kept under a sedentary lifestyle condition. Proteomic data were implemented by morphological and morphometrical ultrastructural evaluations.Results and Discussion: Data demonstrate that muscles can respond to adapted physical training started at old age, positively modulating their morphology and the proteomic profile fostering protective and saving mechanisms either involving the extracellular compartment as well as muscle cell components and pathways (i.e., mitochondrial processes, cytoplasmic translation pathways, chaperone-dependent protein refolding, regulation of skeletal muscle contraction). Therefore, this study provides important insights on the targets of adapted physical training, which can be regarded as suitable benchmarks for future in vivo studies further exploring the effects of this type of physical activity by functional/metabolic approaches

Incidência de bicho-mineiro em diferentes cultivares de cafeeiro em sistema agroecológico.

bitstream/item/68482/1/061-Incidencia-de-bicho-mineiro-em-diferentes-cultivares-de-cafeeiro.pdfPublicado também no Cadernos de Agroecologia, v. 7, n. 2, 2012

Challenges in developing new technologies for special needs education: a force-field analysis

ABSTRACT Introduction of new technologies for use in special needs education requires careful design to ensure that their use is suitable for the intended users in the context of use and that learners benefit from the experience. This paper discusses issues that influence implementation of collaborative technologies designed to support learning of social communication skills in young people with autism. Taking a reflective view of lessons learned during the COSPATIAL project, a force-field analysis was applied to identify positive factors contributing to successful application development and negative factors that disrupted progress and implementation of the software. On the basis of our experience in the COSPATIAL project, recommendations for future projects are made

Diaminobenzidine photoconversion is a suitable tool for tracking the intracellular location of fluorescently labelled nanoparticles at transmission electron microscopy.

Chitosan-based nanoparticles (NPs) deserve particular attention as suitable drug carriers in the field of pharmaceutics, since they are able to protect the encapsulated drugs and/or improve their efficacy by making them able to cross biological barriers (such as the blood-brain barrier) and reach their intracellular target sites. Understanding the intracellular location of NPs is crucial for designing drug delivery strategies. In this study, fluorescently-labelled chitosan NPs were administered in vitro to a neuronal cell line, and diaminobenzidine (DAB) photoconversion was applied to correlate fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy to precisely describe the NPs intracellular fate. This technique allowed to demonstrate that chitosan NPs easily enter neuronal cells, predominantly by endocytosis; they were found both inside membrane-bounded vesicles and free in the cytosol, and were observed to accumulate around the cell nucleus

Avaliação do nível de infestação de Leucoptera coffeella (bicho mineiro) em cafeeiro sob manejo agroecológico em sistema solteiro e consorciado com bananeira.

bitstream/item/69066/1/022-silva-avaliacao.pdfPublicado também no Cadernos de Agroecologia, v. 7, n.2, 2012