Developing frameworks for protocol implementation

This paper presents a method to develop frameworks for protocol implementation. Frameworks are software structures developed for a specific application domain, which can be reused in the implementation of various different concrete systems in this domain. The use of frameworks support a protocol implementation process connected with formal design methods and produce an implementation code easy to extend and to reuse

Frameworks for Protocol Implementation

This paper reports on the development of a catalogue of frameworks for protocol implementation. Frameworks are software structures developed for a specific application domain, which can be re-used in the implementation of various different concrete systems in this domain. By using frameworks we aim at increasing the effectiveness of the protocol implementation process. We assume that whenever protocols are directly implemented from their specifications one may be able to increase the correctness and the speed of the implementation process, and the maintainability of the resulting system. We argue that frameworks should match the concepts underlying the techniques used for specifying protocols. Consequently, we couple the development of frameworks for protocol implementation to the investigation of the different alternative design models for protocol specification. This paper presents the approach we have been using to develop frameworks, and illustrates this approach with an example of framework

Development and Evaluation of Performance Models for Asphalt, Concrete, and Composite Pavements using Machine Learning

Transportation infrastructures account for a considerable portion of public investments, which serve as the backbone of a country’s economy by providing essential services to businesses and people. In the United States, public investments in transportation infrastructure assets represent trillions of dollars. The U.S road network consists of about 4 million miles, being the world’s largest, longest, and biggest transportation system. Paved roads account for 2.6 million miles, and 93% of them are surfaced with asphalt. However, a portion of the paved roads consists of asphalt overlaid concrete pavements, also known as composite pavements. When concrete pavements start to fail, they are overlaid with Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Compared to flexible or rigid pavements, this offers better performance measures both structurally and functionally, and accordingly, it can be considered a cost-effective alternative.Several performance indicators have been used to assess pavement surface conditions, but the Pavement Condition Rating (PCR) and the International Roughness Index (IRI) are the most widely used and well-recognized pavement performance indicators. Transportation agencies use these indexes to evaluate and classify the conditions for the road networks in the long term. If maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) interventions are not performed timely, the pavement damage caused by environmental impacts and traffic repetitions can lead the roads to early deterioration. Billions of dollars are spent every year on M&R. However, a shortage in federal and state funds led roads and bridges to poor conditions since M&R interventions were not carried out timely. Therefore, there is a need to develop pavement performance prediction models that can support and allow decision-makers to prioritize M&R actions due to the limited budget allocation and estimate the rate of pavement deterioration. Traditionally, linear, non-linear, multiple linear regression analysis, Markov chains, mechanistic-empirical relations, survivor curves, semi-Markov, and Bayesian models have been used for predicting pavement performance. However, simple statistical approaches do not account for the complex relations among input variables and pavement performance. A growing body of literature is exploring the use of more advanced modeling techniques for pavement performance prediction. Among these techniques, the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) approach has shown the most significant improvements with consistent and reliable results. However, most performance models did not consider M&R history in the model development. This doctoral research presents new pavement performance models incorporating the M&R history and activities for composite pavements of the LTPP database. Additionally, a more comprehensive approach was developed for flexible, rigid, and composite pavements of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) database, accounting for the influence of M&R history. This dissertation successfully utilized the ANNs modeling technique to obtain accurate and promising prediction results for pavement performance. Furthermore, the development of a simple, low-cost, and easy-access graphical user interface (GUI) tool brings a significant contribution to the enhancement of agencies\u27 pavement management system (PMS) by predicting future pavement conditions, identifying rehabilitation needs, and allowing a better budget allocation for critical pavement sections without the need of distress data

Estrogen and progesterone receptors in endometrial polyps of women exposed and not exposed to tamoxifen and in atrophic endometrium

Orientador: Lúcia Helena Simões da Costa PaivaDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências MédicasResumo: Introdução: O tamoxifeno é utilizado no tratamento do câncer de mama receptor de estrogênio positivo. Seu mecanismo de ação está na inibição do crescimento das células malignas por antagonismo competitivo com estrógenos pelos receptores estrogênicos. A ação do tamoxifeno nestes receptores é variável e, dependendo do tecido, pode ter ação antagonista ou agonista. Em mulheres menopausadas usuárias de tamoxifeno, observa-se uma maior incidência de patologias endometriais, sendo o pólipo endometrial a alteração mais frequente. Sua patogênese não está bem estabelecida, mas parece estar relacionada a fatores hormonais. Objetivos: Comparar a expressão de receptor de estrógeno (RE) e de receptor de progesterona (RP) em pólipos endometriais de usuárias de tamoxifeno com pólipos endometriais e endométrio atrófico de não usuárias na pós-menopausa. Material e métodos: Entre mulheres submetidas à histeroscopia cirúrgica no Hospital da Mulher Prof. Dr. Aristodemo Pinotti - CAISM/UNICAMP de janeiro de 1998 a dezembro de 2008, foram selecionadas 84 mulheres na pós-menopausa usuárias de tamoxifeno, com pólipo endometrial benigno. Esse grupo foi comparado a 84 amostras de endométrio atrófico e 252 pólipos benignos de mulheres na pós-menopausa não usuárias de tamoxifeno e sem antecedente de terapia hormonal. As expressões de RE e RP foram avaliadas através de imuno-histoquímica segundo a porcentagem de células coradas, intensidade da coloração nuclear e escore final. A expressão de RE e RP no epitélio glandular e no estroma dos pólipos de usuárias de tamoxifeno foi comparada com o endométrio atrófico e os pólipos de não usuárias separadamente, utilizando o Teste de Mann-Whitney, corrigido pelo método de Bonferroni, teste exato de Fisher ou Qui-quadrado. Resultados: os pólipos de usuárias de tamoxifeno apresentaram maior expressão de RE e RP no epitélio glandular e estroma, em relação ao endométrio atrófico (p<0,0001). Em relação aos pólipos de não usuárias, as usuárias apresentaram maior expressão de RP no epitélio glandular (p=0,0014) e estroma (p=0,0056), não apresentando diferença significativa em relação ao RE. A maioria dos pólipos das usuárias e não usuárias de tamoxifeno apresentavam RE/RP positivos enquanto a maioria dos endométrios atróficos era RE/RP negativos. Conclusões: Os pólipos apresentam aumento frequente de RE, independentemente do uso do tamoxifeno. Por outro lado, os altos níveis de RP parecem consistentes com os efeitos agonistas da drogaAbstract: Introduction: Tamoxifen has been used for the treatment of strogen receptor-positive breast cancer. The effect of tamoxifen in breast cancer is the it inhibition cancer cell growth by competitive antagonism with strogen for strogen receptor (ER). The mechanism of action of tamoxifen in this receptor varies among different tissues, with antagonist effect (e.g. in breast) ou agonist (e.g. in endometrium). Thus, in menopausal women who use tamoxifen, a higher incidence of endometrial alterations is observed and endometrial polyps are the most common. The pathophysiology of endometrial polyp is still not definitely established but it seems to be related to hormone influence. Objectives: To compare the expression of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) in endometrial polyps of tamoxifen users to atrophic endometrium and endometrial polyps of postmenopausal nonusers of tamoxifen. Material and methods: Among women undergoing surgical hysteroscopy in Hospital da Mulher Prof. Dr. Aristodemo Pinotti - CAISM/UNICAMP, from January 1998 to December 2008, 84 tamoxifen users with benign endometrial polyp were selected. This group was compared to 84 samples of atrophic endometrium and 252 benign polyps of postmenopausal women who were non-users of tamoxifen and no previous history of hormone therapy use. ER/PR expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry study according to the percentage of stained cells, intensity of nuclear color and final score. The expression ER and PR in the glandular epithelium and stroma of polyp tissue from tamoxifen users was compared to atrophic endometrium and polyps from non-users separately, using the Mann-Whitney test corrected by the Bonferroni method, Fisher's exct test or Chi-square test. Results: Polyps of tamoxifen users had a higher expression of ER and PR in the glandular epithelium and stroma, in relation to the atrophic endometrium (p<0.0001). Regarding polyps of women not treated with tamoxifen, users had a higher PR expression in the epithelium (p=0.0014) and stroma (p=0.0056), without any difference in ER expression. Most of polipys expressed ER/PR positives while atrophic endometrium were ER/PR negatives. Conclusions: Polyps frequently exhibit increase in ER expression, independent of the use of tamoxifen. High levels of PR seem to be consistent with agonist effects of the drugMestradoFisiopatologia GinecológicaMestre em Ciências da Saúd

Lindt & sprüngli sensitivity analysis

In the context of Lindt & Sprüngli valuation a Sensitivity Analysis is presented to fully understand the impact of several variables namely the return on invested capital, weighted average cost of capital, risk free, market risk premium, capital structure, beta and terminal growth rate. This analysis was realized with the purpose of helping investors to make conscient decisions

Automatically generated summaries of sports videos based on semantic content

The sport has been a part of our lives since the beginning of times, whether we are spectators or participants. The diffusion and increase of multimedia platforms made the consumption of these contents available to everyone. Sports videos appeal to a large population all around the world and have become an important form of multimedia content that is streamed over the Internet and television networks. Moreover, sport content creators want to provide the users with relevant information such as live commentary, summarization of the games in form of text or video using automatic tools.As a result, MOG-Technologies wants to create a tool capable of summarizing football matches based on semantic content, and this problem was explored in the scope of this Dissertation. The main objective is to convert the television football commentator's speech into text taking advantage of Google's Speech-to-Text tool. Several machine learning models were then tested to classify sentences into important events. For the model training, a dataset was created, combining 43 games transcription from different television channels also from 72 games provided by Google Search timeline commentary, the combined dataset contains 3260 sentences. To validate the proposed solution the accuracy and f1 score were extracted for each machine learning model.The results show that the developed tool is capable of predicting events in live events, with low error rate. Also, combining multiple sources, not only the sport commentator speech, will help to increase the performance of the tool. It is important to notice that the dataset created during this Dissertation will allow MOG-Technologies to expand and perfect the concept discussed in this project

Solid waste management: Belo Horizonte’s study case

The main objective of this study is to present the instruments related to solid waste in Brazil, specifically in the city of Belo Horizonte, as well as to characterize the aspects of waste management abroad. In addition to websites of different governments, scientific databases were consulted, among them are: SciELO, Science Direct and Web of Science. Although having a major regulatory framework on the management of solid waste, and that the Law 12.305 of August 2010, Brazil is lagging when it comes to the application of what is regulated. In 2015, it was decided to extend the deadline for municipalities to close their dumpsters and then use landfills, which was not fulfilled. Thus, it was decided to extend the deadline, share that view by different scholars as an error. During this study, it was observed that among the major flaws in the Brazilian management model, is meeting deadlines established by law, which differs from the model adopted in Europe, after the deadline, fines are levied on the waste generator that does not comply with the provisions. Unfortunately, in Brazil, solid waste management by the government is still seen in the wrong way, for something interesting to remember is that with a good waste management, spending vector control (and therefore healthy) will be considerably reduced.The main objective of this study is to present the instruments related to solid waste in Brazil, specifically in the city of Belo Horizonte, as well as to characterize the aspects of waste management abroad. In addition to websites of different governments, scientific databases were consulted, among them are: SciELO, Science Direct and Web of Science. Although having a major regulatory framework on the management of solid waste, and that the Law 12.305 of August 2010, Brazil is lagging when it comes to the application of what is regulated. In 2015, it was decided to extend the deadline for municipalities to close their dumpsters and then use landfills, which was not fulfilled. Thus, it was decided to extend the deadline, share that view by different scholars as an error. During this study, it was observed that among the major flaws in the Brazilian management model, is meeting deadlines established by law, which differs from the model adopted in Europe, after the deadline, fines are levied on the waste generator that does not comply with the provisions. Unfortunately, in Brazil, solid waste management by the government is still seen in the wrong way, for something interesting to remember is that with a good waste management, spending vector control (and therefore healthy) will be considerably reduced

Profissional da informação : imagem, perfil e a necessidade da educação continuada

Apresenta o bibliotecário como profissional representante da família dos profissionais da informação, discute a classificação do profissional da informação da CBO, estereótipo do bibliotecário perante a sociedade brasileira bem como o seu perfil. Ressalta a importância dos estudos realizados sobre o perfil do profissional da informação. As mudanças no perfil do bibliotecário nos últimos 10 anos (1998-2008) foram comparadas com os resultados do estudo de Baptista (1998) e o de Walter (2008). _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTPresents the librarian as an information professional family representative, discusses the CBO (Brazilian Occupation Classification) information professional classification, librarians stereotype image in Brazilian society and its profile. The discussion emphasizes information professionals profile and image. Baptista (1998) and Walter (2008) studies showed profile changes about 10 years. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RESUMENPresenta al bibliotecario como profesional representante de la familia de los profesionales de la información, se discute la clasificación de los profesionales de la información de la CBO, el estereotipo del bibliotecario frente a la sociedad brasileña así como su perfil. Resalta la importancia de los estudios realizados sobre el perfil del profesional de la información. Los cambios en el perfil del bibliotecario en los últimos 10 años (1998-2008) fueron comparados con los resultados del estudio de Baptista (1998) y los de Walter (2008)

Avaliação comportamental e bioquímica do efeito do extrato de Polygala paniculata na neuroinflamação induzida pelo modelo de transtorno de estresse pós-traumático em camundongos

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Florianópolis, 2016.O Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático (TEPT) é um grave e incapacitante transtorno de ansiedade, que alguns indivíduos apresentam após a exposição a um evento traumático. Sem possuir tratamento específico, o recomendado atualmente é a combinação do inibidor seletivo de recaptação de serotonina (ISRS) sertralina e a Terapia Comportamental Cognitiva (TCC). No entanto, estes não chegam a alcançar 50% de remissão dos sintomas. Devido a esse fator, a busca por novas e eficazes formas de tratamento se mostra de grande relevância. Dentre elas, a utilização de plantas medicinais parece ser interessante devido ao seu uso no tratamento e prevenção de doenças ser realizado desde a antiguidade, sendo esse uso mantido até os dias atuais, por uma expressiva parcela da população. Entre as diversas plantas utilizadas, encontra-se a Polygala paniculata, conhecida popularmente como barba-de-São João e mimosinha . Estudos anteriores indicam que seu extrato hidroalcoólico possui efeito analgésico, anti-inflamatório, antidepressivo e neuroprotetor por inibir a ação de citocinas pró-inflamatórias, como o fator de necrose tumoral alfa (TNF-a) e a interleucina um beta (IL-1ß), as quais contribuem na neuroinflamação, presente em doenças neuropsiquiátricas tais como Esquizofrenia, Depressão Maior e o TEPT. Assim, o presente trabalho pretende investigar o possível efeito do extrato hidroalcoólico da Polygala paniculata (EHPp) no modelo animal de TEPT, bem como o seu mecanismo de ação neurobiológico em camundongos fêmeas. A administração do EHPp (0,1-1,0 mg/kg) por via intragástrica (i.g.) em camundongos, trinta minutos após passarem por um protocolo de indução de TEPT (choque inescapável nas patas) mostrou ser capaz de reduzir, dependente da dose, o tempo de freezing destes animais, quando reexpostos ao aparato de choque, vinte e quatro horas depois. O EHPp (0,1 mg/kg, i.g.) e a sertralina (15 mg/kg, i.g.) foram capazes de reduzir o tempo de latência dos animais para saírem do estado de freezing e o EHPp foi capaz de prevenir a redução do comportamento de grooming, provocada pelo estresse gerado. Além disto, o EHPp (0,1 mg/kg, i.g.) foi capaz de reduzir o estado tipo depressivo associado ao TEPT no teste do nado forçado, caracterizado pelo aumento de imobilidade dos animais. O EHPp (0,1 mg/kg, i.g.) preveniu o aumento da expressão gênica do RNAm de TNF-a no hipotálamo, córtex pré-frontal (CPF) e hipocampo dos animais com TEPT, todavia, a prevenção do aumento da expressão de IL-1ß foi demonstrada apenas no hipocampo. Por outro lado, o EHPp (0,1 mg/kg, i.g.) preveniu o aumento da expressão gênica do RNAm de GDNF no hipotálamo, CPF e hipotálamo, enquanto que o aumento da expressão do RNAm de BDNF foi prevenido no hipotálamo e CPF. Além disto, o efeito do EHPp (0,1 mg/kg, i.g.) foi independente de uma ação amnésica quando avaliado no teste da esquiva inibitória, sugerindo que seu efeito parece ser especifico. Em conjunto, os dados deste trabalho demonstram que o EHPp apresenta importante efeito promissor no tratamento da neuroinflamação associado ao transtorno de estresse pós-traumático.Abstract : The post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe and disabling anxiety disorder, which some individuals present after exposure to a traumatic event. Without possessing specific treatment, the currently recommended is the combination of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). However, these are not enough to achieve 50% remission of symptoms. Due to this factor, the search for new and effective approaches is of great relevance. Among these, the use of medicinal plants seems interesting due to its application in the treatment and prevention of diseases be known since old ages, and is beneficial until the present days, by a significant portion of the population. Among the various plants used is Polygala paniculata, popularly known as "barba-de-São João e mimosinha". Previous studies indicate that its hydroalcoholic extract possesses analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and neuroprotective by inhibiting the action of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 ß), which contribute to the neuroinflammation, existent in neuropsychiatric diseases such as Schizophrenia, Major Depression and PTSD. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the possible effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Polygala paniculata (HEPp) in the animal model of PTSD, as well as its mechanism of neurobiology action in female mice. HEPp Administration (0.1-1.0 mg/kg, i.g.), thirty minutes after going through a protocol of PTSD induction (inescapable shock on his paws) proved to be capable of reducing the dose-dependent time of freezing of these animals, when re-exposed to the shock apparatus, 24 hours later. The HEPp (0.1 mg/kg, i.g.) and sertraline (15 mg/kg, i.g.) were able to reduce the latency of the animals to leave the state of freezing and prevent the reduction of the grooming behavior, caused by stress generated. In addition, the HEPp (0.1 mg/kg, i.g.) was able to reduce the depressive-like behavior associated with PTSD in the forced swimming test, characterized by the increase of immobility. The HEPp (0.1 mg/kg, i.g.) prevented the increase in gene expression of the TNF-a RNAm in the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex (CPF) and hippocampus of animals with PTSD, however, prevention of the increase of the expression of IL-1 ß has been demonstrated only in the hippocampus. On the other hand, the HEPp (0.1 mg/kg, i.g.) prevented the increase in gene expression of RNAm to GDNF in the hypothalamus, CPF and hypothalamus, while the increase of RNAm expression to BDNF was prevented in the hypothalamus and CPF. In addition, the HEPp effect (0.1 mg/kg, i.g.) was independent of an amnesic action when evaluated in the inhibitory avoidance test, suggesting that its effect seems to be specific. Together, the data of this study demonstrate that the HEPp presents important promising effect in the treatment of neuroinflammation associated with post-traumatic stress disorder

O Pietismo como luto: trauma, repetição e elaboração no Sefer Hassidim

Diversas formas de hostilidade ganharam corpo nas relações entre judeus e cristãos a partir do século XI. Um dos principais fenômenos que expressaram essas tensões crescentes foram as Cruzadas. Ao longo da segunda metade do século XII, em meio ao aprofundamento das transformações pelas quais o Ocidente medieval passava, surge o Pietismo de Judá, o Hassid. O presente texto busca refletir sobre as conexões existentes entre as perseguições sofridas pelas comunidades judaicas germânicas na primeira Cruzada e o fator traumático que esses eventos imprimiram nessa nova forma de espiritualidade do Judaísmo Ashkenazi. Pietism as mourning: trauma, repetition and working through in Sefer Hasidim - Abstract: Many forms of hostility took place in relations between Jews and Christians from the eleventh-century on. One of the main phenomena that expressed these increasing tensions was the Crusades. Throughout the second half of the twelfth-century, in the midst of the deepening transformations in which medieval West passed, arises the Pietism of R. Judah the Hasid. This essay aims to reflect on the connections between the persecutions experienced by German Jewish communities in the first Crusade and the traumatic factor that these events printed in this new form of spirituality of Ashkenazi Judaism