Ten Years later: A Comparison of Results of Simulation Scenarios under a Systems Dynamic Approach and the Actual Economic Performance of Small-Scale Agro-industries Supported by Brazilian Agro-industrial Development Programs

Agro-industrialization promotion is a policy option to aggregate value to a primary product and increase revenues for small farmers. However, experience has shown the vulnerability of small-scale agro-industries (SSAI) when facing a competitive environment under the constraints of several technological, institutional and managerial bottlenecks. A system dynamics model was built to simulate the financial performance of agrifood processing enterprises promoted by Brazilian SSAI development programs after the mid 1990s. Under different optimistic, conservative and pessimistic hypotheses related to SSAI operations and their business environment, model simulations allowed the identification of conditions for long-term financial sustainability. Ten years after the modeling exercise, the results of this analysis could be confirmed through a comparative assessment of the financial performance of selected enterprises supported by two of the promotion programs. The results of the original SD model could be mostly corroborated by the comparison between simulations and the observed enterprise performance. The relatively high SSAI survival rate over the ten-year period analyzed suggests the strong potential of these programs for agribusiness development promotion

Ten Years Later: a Comparison between the Results of Early Simulation Scenarios and the Sustainability of a Small-Scale Agro-Industry Development Program

Agro-industrialization promotion is a policy option to aggregate value to a primary product and increase revenues for small farmers. However, experience has shown the vulnerability of small-scale agro-industries (SSAI) when facing a competitive environment with technological, institutional and managerial bottlenecks. A system dynamics model was built to simulate the financial behavior of agrifood processing enterprises promoted by Brazilian SSAI development programs after the mid 1990’s. Ten years after the modeling exercise, an assessment of selected enterprises supported by distinct programs largely confirmed the simulation results. Modelling suggested conditions for long-term SSAI sustainability were corroborated and the importance of the promotion programs was further evidenced

Vorticity Evolution near the Turbulent/Non-Turbulent Interfaces in Free-Shear Flows

Vorticity dynamics is studied near the interface between turbulent and non-turbulent flows, the so-called turbulent/non-turbulent (T/NT) interface, with the direct numerical simulations of planar jets and mixing layers. The statistics near the interface confirm that the T/NT interface consists of two layers: viscous superlayer and turbulent sublayer. The viscous superlayer with the thickness of four times of Kolmogorov length scale is found at the outer edge of the interface, where the vorticity grows with the viscous diffusion. In the turbulent sublayer between the viscous superlayer and the turbulent region, the strain-vorticity interaction becomes active. In the Lagrangian statistics for the fluid particles, the different scaling laws appear in the entrained particle movement depending on the layer: a ballistic evolution in the viscous superlayer and the Richardson-like scaling for relative dispersion in the turbulent sublayer. These scalings indicate that the change in the particle position in the viscous superlayer is governed by the outward viscous diffusion of vorticity, whereas it is governed by the inviscid small-scale eddy motions in the turbulent sublayer. The flow topology on the particle path line shows that the fluid being entrained tends to circumvent the core region of intense eddies near the T/NT interface

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Remote Experimentation supported by Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper proposes a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems targeted at making suggestions to students about their remote laboratories activities and providing insights to all stakeholders taking part in the learning process. To apply the process, a log with requests and responses of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed. A request is the setup of the experiment including the assembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment. In turn, a response is a message provided by the measurement server indicating measures or an error when it is not possible to execute the experiment. Along the two phases of analysis, the log was analyzed and summarized in order to provide insights about students' experiments. In addition, there is a recommendation service responsible for analyzing the requests thus returning, in case of error, precise information about the assembly of circuits or configurations. The evaluation of the process is consistent in what regards its ability to afford recommendations to the students as they carry out the experiments. Moreover, the summarized information intends to offer teachers means to better understand and develop strategies to scaffold students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A time of flight method to measure the speed of sound using a stereo sound card

We present an inexpensive apparatus for measuring the speed of sound, with a time of flight method, using a computer with a stereo sound board. Students measure the speed of sound by timing the delay between the arrivals of a pulse to two microphones placed at different distances from the source. It can serve as a very effective demonstration, providing a quick measurement of the speed of sound in air; we have used it with great success in Open Days in our Department. It can also be used for a full fledged laboratory determination of the speed of sound in air.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Physics Teache

Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems toward Remote Experimentation

This paper presents a process based on learning analytics and recom- mender systems to provide suggestions to students about remote laboratories ac- tivities in order to scaffold their performance. For this purpose, the records of remote experiments from the VISIR project were analyzed taking into account one of its installations. Each record is composed of requests containing the as- sembled circuits and the configurations of the measuring equipment, as well as the response provided by the measurement server that evaluates whether a par- ticular request can be performed or not. With the log analysis, it was possible to obtain information in order to determine some initial statistics and provide clues about the student’s behavior during the experiments. Using the concept of rec- ommendation, a service is proposed through request analysis and returns to the students more precise information about possible mistakes in the assembly of circuits or configurations. The process as a whole proves consistent in what re- gards its ability to provide suggestions to the students as they conduct the exper- iments. Furthermore, with the log, relevant information can be offered to teach- ers, thus assisting them in developing strategies to positively impact student’s learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Personalized Student Assessment based on Learning Analytics and Recommender Systems

This paper presents a process based on learning analytics and recommender systems with the objective of analyzing student assessment in order to provide clues that can help teachers in scaffolding the students’ performance. For this, a set of tests was used to evaluate students' competence in direct current circuits. The tests had multiple versions and to solve them each student had to use multiple approaches. The results indicate a better performance in calculus and simulations approaches when compared with hands-on and remote laboratories approaches. The analyses also provide support for the recommendation step allowing the configuration of a knowledge base. The process as a whole is consistent in what regards its ability to make suggestions to the students as they complete a given test and to provide teachers with information that can help them formulate strategies to positively impact students’ learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Resposta fotoparoxística

Sixty-five outpatients with photoparoxysmal response (PPR) during routine EEG were studied. The PPR showed prevalence in women (75.4%). Seizures were found in 66.1% of cases. The rest recordings were abnormal in 41.8% with prevalence of generalized paroxysm. Eight patterns of PPR were observed, being polyspike mixed to slow wave the most frequent (53%). The epileptic group showed a bimodal distribution in the several bands of photic stimulation, near 8 and 20-24 Hz. A sustained paroxysmal abnormality persisting after the photic stimulation was present in 6 epileptic patients.Foram estudados 65 pacientes de ambulatório que apresentaram resposta fotoparoxística (RF) no EEG intercrítico. Houve predomínio da RF no sexo feminino (75,4%) e 61,1% dos casos tinham história de crises epilépticas. Dos 8 padrões de RF observados, o padrão poliponta-onda lenta foi o mais freqüente (53%). Em relação às faixas de fotostimulação, o grupo epiléptico apresentou distribuição bimodal (8 e 20-24 Hz). Os autores discutem seus achados em relação aos descritos na literatura.Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Neurologia e Neurocirurgia Setor de Investigação e Tratamento das Epilepsias e Setor de EletrencefalografiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Neurologia e Neurocirurgia Setor de Investigação e Tratamento das Epilepsias e Setor de EletrencefalografiaSciEL