Madness in Shakespeare's major tragedies: a tentative analysis towards a laingian interpretation

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 1980

Desenvolvimento profissional de professores de matemática: mais valias e desafios do pfcm nos distritos de évora e leiria

O Programa de Formação Contínua em Matemática (PFCM) tem como objectivo promover o desenvolvimento profissional dos professores de 1o e 2o ciclos enquanto professores de Matemática. É um programa centrado na prática da sala de aula e aposta no trabalho colaborativo entre professores, numa estreita ligação com os formadores. Visa o desenvolvimento de uma atitude positiva dos professores em relação à Matemática e o aprofundamento dos conhecimentos matemático e didáctico necessários para lidar com os actuais programas de Matemática. O PFCM está no seu terceiro ano de desenvolvimento: Que mais valias está a ter? E que desafios coloca? Apresentamos os efeitos do PFCM nos distritos de Évora e Leiria, tomando por base dados dos professores participantes no programa em 2006/2007, e finalizamos com uma reflexão sobre o seu impacto. Em ambas as instituições os professores reconhecem de forma inequívoca um aprofundamento do seu conhecimento matemático e didáctico, que lhes proporcionou um aumento de confiança enquanto professores de Matemática, com consequências no elevar de expectativas sobre as capacidades matemáticas dos seus alunos. Para isto muito terá contribuído o foco e o processo da formação, em torno do desenvolvimento curricular em Matemática, para os seus próprios alunos, com o apoio dos seus colegas e do formador, em trabalho colaborativo e com forte componente reflexiva

Small subunit ribosomal metabarcoding reveals extraordinary trypanosomatid diversity in Brazilian bats

Background: Bats are a highly successful, globally dispersed order of mammals that occupy a wide array of ecological niches. They are also intensely parasitized and implicated in multiple viral, bacterial and parasitic zoonoses. Trypanosomes are thought to be especially abundant and diverse in bats. In this study, we used 18S ribosomal RNA metabarcoding to probe bat trypanosome diversity in unprecedented detail. Methodology/Principal Findings: Total DNA was extracted from the blood of 90 bat individuals (17 species) captured along Atlantic Forest fragments of Espírito Santo state, southeast Brazil. 18S ribosomal RNA was amplified by standard and/or nested PCR, then deep sequenced to recover and identify Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) for phylogenetic analysis. Blood samples from 34 bat individuals (13 species) tested positive for infection by 18S rRNA amplification. Amplicon sequences clustered to 14 OTUs, of which five were identified as Trypanosoma cruzi I, T. cruzi III/V, Trypanosoma cruzi marinkellei, Trypanosoma rangeli, and Trypanosoma dionisii, and seven were identified as novel genotypes monophyletic to basal T. cruzi clade types of the New World. Another OTU was identified as a trypanosome like those found in reptiles. Surprisingly, the remaining OTU was identified as Bodo saltans–closest non-parasitic relative of the trypanosomatid order. While three blood samples featured just one OTU (T. dionisii), all others resolved as mixed infections of up to eight OTUs. Conclusions/Significance: This study demonstrates the utility of next-generation barcoding methods to screen parasite diversity in mammalian reservoir hosts. We exposed high rates of local bat parasitism by multiple trypanosome species, some known to cause fatal human disease, others non-pathogenic, novel or yet little understood. Our results highlight bats as a long-standing nexus among host-parasite interactions of multiple niches, sustained in part by opportunistic and incidental infections of consequence to evolutionary theory as much as to public health. Author summary: Bats make up a mega-diverse, intensely parasitized order of volant mammals whose unique behavioural and physiological adaptations promote infection by a vast array of microorganisms. Trypanosomes stand out as ancient protozoan parasites of bats. As cryptic morphology, low parasitaemia and selective growth in culture have recurrently biased survey, we used 18S ribosomal RNA metabarcoding to resolve bat trypanosomatid diversity in Atlantic Forest fragments of southeast Brazil. Next to several unknown species, our deep sequence-based detection and assignment protocol recognized multiple known human-pathogenic trypanosomes, another linked to reptile hosts as well as a non-parasitic kinetoplastid in the blood of various phyllostomid bats. The striking permissivity exposed here, in a region where bat trypanosomes recently featured in a fatal case of Chagas disease, compels further research on bats’ role in the dispersal and spill-over of various microorganisms among humans and wildlife

Embedding the DIRECT algorithm in a penalty approach for solving engineering design problems

Publicado em CD-ROMIn this paper we investigate the performance of DIRECT algorithm when solving constrained engineering design problems. For this purpose, the hyperbolic penalty approach is employed and the algorithm is modified in order to preserve feasibility of solutions. The algorithm is illustrated on six well–known engineering problems with promising results. Comparisons with other global optimization solvers are reported and discussed

Association between food security and sociodemographic factors: cross-sectional study on a POAPMC beneficiaries

A insegurança alimentar é um problema complexo e que engloba vários fatores nomeadamente os sociodemográficos. Para além disso, esta situação está associada a efeitos prejudiciais à saúde devido a circunstâncias como a ingestão alimentar inadequada e consequente surgimento de doenças crónicas, problemas de saúde mental, entre outros. Objetivos: Determinar a associação entre os fatores sociodemográficos e a situação de segurança alimentar em agregados familiares apoiados pelo Programa Operacional de Apoio às Pessoas Mais Carenciadas (POAPMC). Material e Métodos: Estudo transversal, observacional, quantitativo e analítico, realizado na Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Vieira do Minho a uma amostra de 71 pessoas beneficiárias do POAPMC. Foi aplicado um questionário sobre fatores sociodemográficos e uma escala de insegurança alimentar. O estudo analítico envolveu testes de associação nomeadamente o teste do Qui-quadrado Pearson e o teste de Spearman. Resultados: A insegurança alimentar verificou-se em 74,6% dos inquiridos, 14,1% na forma grave, 22,5% na moderada e 38,0% na ligeira. Segundo o teste de Spearman, a variável sociodemográfica que mostrou associação com a situação de segurança alimentar foi o nível de escolaridade concluído (Ró = -0,23, p = 0,050;). Essa correlação é negativa, ou seja, à medida que aumenta o nível de instrução, diminui o nível de insegurança alimentar. Conclusões: O nível de escolaridade parece estar associado à situação de segurança alimentar dos beneficiários do POAPMC. Assim, os resultados deste estudo, mostram que o nível de escolaridade de cada beneficiário deve ser considerado na constituição de novas políticas públicas.Food insecurity is a complex problem that encompasses several factors such as sociodemographic factors. In addition, this situation is associated with harmful effects on health due to circumstances such as inadequate food intake and the consequent emergence of chronic diseases, mental health problems, among others. Objectives: Determine the association between sociodemographic factors and the food security situation in households supported by the Programa Operacional de Apoio às Pessoas Mais Carenciadas (POAPMC). Material and methods: A cross-sectional, observational, quantitative, and analytical study, carried out at Santa Casa da Misericordia in Vieira do Minho with a sample of 71 people benefiting from the POAPMC. A questionnaire on sociodemographic factors and a food insecurity scale were applied. The analytical study involved association tests namely the Pearson Chi-square test and the Spearman test. Results: Food insecurity was found in 74.6% of respondents, 14.1% in the severe form, 22.5% in the moderate form, and 38.0% in the mild form. According to Spearman's test, the sociodemographic variable that showed an association with the food security situation was the level of education completed (Rho = -0,23, p = 0,050;). This evaluation is, that is, as the level of education increases, the level of food. Conclusions: The level of education seems to be associated with the food security situation of POAPMC beneficiaries. Thus, the results of this study show that the educational level of each beneficiary must be considered in the creation of new public policies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Scheduling Single-Machine Problem Oriented by Just-In-Time Principles - A Case Study

Developments in advanced autonomous production resources have increased the interest in the Single-Machine Scheduling Problem (SMSP). Until now, researchers used SMSP with little to no practical application in industry, but with the introduction of multi-purpose machines, able of executing an entire task, such as 3D Printers, replacing extensive production chains, single-machine problems are becoming a central point of interest in real-world scheduling. In this paper we study how simple, easy to implement, Just-in-Time (JIT) based, constructive heuristics, can be used to optimize customer and enterprise oriented performance measures. Customer oriented performance measures are mainly related to the accomplishment of due dates while enterprise-oriented ones typically consider other time-oriented measures.The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through the grant “Projeto Estratégico – UI 252 – 2011–2012” reference PEst-OE/EME/UI0252/2011 and FCOMP-01-0124FEDER-PEst-OE/EEI/UI0760/2014info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of a production process for a recombinant protein pneumococcal vaccine

Pneumonia represents important infection in young children (under five years old). Even with efficient vaccines, this disease was responsible for 992,000 deaths in 2015 and it was globally equivalent to 15% of all deaths in children. Bio-Manguinhos/Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Brazil), supplies in their National Immunization Program the 10-vallent pneumococcal vaccine. This vaccine contains 10 of the 92 serotypes of this pathogen, and it´s obtained through fermentations and purifications of the capsular polysaccharides of each serotype, followed by chemical couplings to specific carrier proteins. This work presents a proposal for industrial process of only one recombinant protein antigen, the PsaA (pneumococcal surface adhesion A with 37 kDa), potentially capable to act against most of all prevalent serotypes of streptococcus pneumoniae. Based on protein expression in prokaryotic system and purification, this process reached high purity levels and yield superior to conventional fermentation systems. Biomass was obtained in bench scale reactor and studies of expression times verified that it could be reduced in 60% from presented previously. Moreover, in purification steps was observed good resolution using anion exchange (DEAE Sepharose FF®). For desalting, it was observed that gel filtration technique could be replaced for tangential cross flow filtration, better to scale-up, and using 10 kDa membranes. The developed process resulted in overall yield of 35-40%, based in BCA analysis. Electrophoretic analysis (SDS-PAGE) of the purified sample showed a band with molecular weight of 37 kDa corresponding to 80% of identified proteins. As formulation proposal, chitosan in different concentrations were used to prepare capsules of the antigen resulting in encapsulation efficiency between 26 and 36% that can be evaluated as an intranasal delivery system. This data show that the methodology developed is promising for use in industrial process aimed at obtain a recombinant vaccine

Hybrid approaches to optimization and machine learning methods

This paper conducts a comprehensive literature review concerning hybrid techniques that combine optimization and machine learning approaches for clustering and classification problems. The aim is to identify the potential benefits of integrating these methods to address challenges in both fields. The paper outlines optimization and machine learning methods and provides a quantitative overview of publications since 1970. Additionally, it offers a detailed review of recent advancements in the last three years. The study includes a SWOT analysis of the top ten most cited algorithms from the collected database, examining their strengths and weaknesses as well as uncovering opportunities and threats explored through hybrid approaches. Through this research, the study highlights significant findings in the realm of hybrid methods for clustering and classification, showcasing how such integrations can enhance the shortcomings of individual techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A new competitive implementation of the electromagnetism-like algorithm for global optimization

The Electromagnetism-like (EM) algorithm is a population- based stochastic global optimization algorithm that uses an attraction- repulsion mechanism to move sample points towards the optimal. In this paper, an implementation of the EM algorithm in the Matlab en- vironment as a useful function for practitioners and for those who want to experiment a new global optimization solver is proposed. A set of benchmark problems are solved in order to evaluate the performance of the implemented method when compared with other stochastic methods available in the Matlab environment. The results con rm that our imple- mentation is a competitive alternative both in term of numerical results and performance. Finally, a case study based on a parameter estimation problem of a biology system shows that the EM implementation could be applied with promising results in the control optimization area.Acknowledgments This work has been supported by FCT (Funda¸c˜ao para a Ciˆencia e Tecnologia, Portugal) in the scope of the project PEst-UID/CEC/00319/2013