Development of a knowledge-based system for cogeneration plant design: Verification, validation and lessons learned

This paper presents the development of a knowledge-based system (KBS) prototype able to design natural gas cogeneration plants, demonstrating new features for this field. The design of such power plants represents a synthesis problem, subject to thermodynamic constraints that include the location and sizing of components. The project was developed in partnership with the major Brazilian gas and oil company, and involved interaction with an external consultant as well as an interdisciplinary team. The paper focuses on validation and lessons learned, concentrating on important aspects such as the generation of alternative configuration schemes, breadth of each scheme description created by the system, and its module to support economic feasibility analysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polymorphisms in endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene in early and late severe preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria, occurring after the 20th week of pregnancy in women who have had no previous symptoms. The disease progresses with generalized vasoconstriction and endothelial dysfunction. Clinically, it is important to diagnose the severe form of the disease (sPE), in which blood pressure and proteinuria are much higher. Recently, the gestational age (GA) of the onset of PE has led to the classification of this disease as early (GA <34 weeks) and late (GA >= 34 weeks). Several genetic polymorphisms affecting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) levels or function were described, including G894T (Glu298Asp), VNTR b/a (variable-number 27-bp tandem repeat) and T-786C (promoter) polymorphisms. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the distribution of G894T, VNTR b/a and T-786C polymorphisms and their haplotypes in Brazilian early and late sPE, as well as in normotensive pregnant. A total of 201 women were evaluated, 53 with early sPE, 45 with late sPE and 103 as normotensive pregnant women. The frequency of 894T allele was higher in late sPE vs normotensive pregnant, and 894TT genotype was higher in late sPE vs early sPE and normotensive pregnant. For VNTR b/a polymorphism, higher frequencies of aa genotype and a allele were observed in early sPE vs late sPE and normotensive pregnant. Besides, the frequency of haplotype T-b-C was higher in late sPE vs early sPE and normotensive pregnant. Considering the results found for eNOS polymorphisms, it is possible to suggest that the functional alterations induced by these two polymorphisms may influence the time of severe PE onset, although both alterations are putatively associated with low NO bioavailability. However, other studies are necessary to validate these findings and clarify this issue. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brazilian adaptation of the Woodcock-Johnson III cognitive tests

An adaptation of the standard battery of Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III) for Brazilian children and youth was investigated. The sample was composed of 1094 students (54 percent girls), ages 7-17, living in Sao Paulo state (91 percent). Items from Brazilian school books as well as from the WJ-III Spanish version (Bateria-R) were added to comprehension-knowledge tests. Brazilian words were adapted to the auditory tests according to syllabic division and stressed syllables. Items were examined through IRT and age differences through analysis of variance. Results indicated the need to remove items from all WJ-III subtests with the exception of the visual learning test. Analysis of Variance indicated significant age differences (p <= 0.001) for all tests. Thus, the importance of a Brazilian adaptation for the WJ-III was confirmed.

A ironia na peça O rei da velha, de Oswald de Andrade

Este trabalho tem como objetivo traçar um panorama artístico literário presente na produção do escritor modernista Oswald de Andrade, identificando a evolução estética ideológica do autor por meio do manifesto Pau-Brasil (1925) e o Antropófago (1928); de teses e artigos como “Meu Testamento” (1944) e “A crise da filosofia Messiânica” (1945); de entrevistas presentes no livro Telefonema, parte integrante da coleção: Obras Completas de Oswald de Andrade (Rio de janeiro, 1974); e de sua produção teatral. Toma como ponto de partida a antropofagia como um operador cultural, de modo que a característica mais marcante do escritor, a irreverência, é fomentada e trabalhada por meio da ironia, ferramenta de discurso que Oswald de Andrade utiliza com uma função social, uma arma revolucionária e política. Para tal, traçou-se uma linha entre a produção modernista e a produção teatral de Oswald e desse levantamento bibliográfico, a peça que mais chamou a atenção foi O rei da vela, primeira peça escrita na fase adulta, em 1933, e publicada em 1937 e que somente teve sua primeira encenação 30 anos depois, em 1967, pelo grupo de Teatro Oficina com a direção de José Celso Martinez Corrêa. O grupo realizou um levantamento literário e documental sobre o Oswald de Andrade, através de depoimentos dos atores que receberam a proposta de encenação (em 1934), aos Manifestos, até encontrar a Antropofagia oswaldiana, e dela se utilizarem para concretizar O rei da vela, retomando e usando a antropofagia, essencialmente, como um operador cultural

Tradução anotada, autor-tradutor invisível: Richard Francis Burton na Brasiliana

The aim of this paper is to analyze the translation of the work by the translator-traveller Richard Francis Burton, Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil, with a full account of the gold and diamond mines, made by Américo Jacobina Lacombe, trying to relate the work of the latter to the editorial goals of the Brasiliana Collection. As a subseries of the Biblioteca Pedagógica Brasileira [Brazilian Pedagogical Library] published by Companhia Editora Nacional, Brasiliana was conceived in agreement with the 1930s and 1940s policies to expand lay education and make it possible for Brazilians to get to better know the greatness of their country. The paper will focus on the numerous translator’s notes, since many of them reveal Lacombe’s didactic purpose of informing readers about Brazilian history and geography. The analysis also examines the effacement of Burton’s translations from Portuguese into English in his book.

Tratamento terminográfico de termos em inglês do comércio Internacional em dicionários franceses

Brazil has a strong trading relationship with several countries, including France, which has intensified these links in recent years and intends to do so yet further. Legal documents regulate this operation, resulting in a set of terms which designate concepts specific to this area. Communication between Brazilian and French buyers and sellers is intense and does not permit the occurrence of errors in understanding orders for merchandise nor in terms of purchase and sale. It is therefore very important that agents of International Trade between Brazil and France should have access to a specialised terminographic tool in the area, containing the relevant terms used in French and Portuguese. This type of work does not currently exist; we therefore decided to make a contribution and draw up a proposal for a bilingual French-Portuguese dictionary in this specialised area. During our research, we registered a significant presence of English terms in International Trade texts originally written in Portuguese and in French, which may be explained by the fact that English currently has the role of global lingua franca. However, it is well known that France operates a policy of linguistic protectionism, making the use of French obligatory in all sectors of activity in France. This generated an area of doubt: how should one deal with English terms in a bilingual French-Portugese dictionary? In order to begin the search for an answer to this question, we decided to see what treatment was given to English terms in the area of International Trade in some French dictionaries. In this paper we shall present the principal results obtained during our research.

Tradução de termos simples, expressões fixas e semifixas em ciência política e economia política: um estudo baseado em corpus

This study discusses translations in English concerning the areas of Political Science and Political Economy, written by Fernando Henrique Cardoso & Enzo Falleto; and Antonio Carlos Bresser-Pereira. Our research project draws on CorpusBased Translation Studies (BAKER, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000; CAMARGO, 2005, 2007), Corpus Linguistics (BERBER SARDINHA, 2004; TOGNINI-BONELLI, 2001) and on some concepts of Terminology (BARROS, 2004; KRIEGER & FINATTO, 2004). For compiling the comparable corpora in Portuguese and in English, we selected articles from Brazilian journals and from international journals of Political Science and Political Economy. We also present four samples of bilingual glossaries with the terms of these subareas in their cotexts.

Phenotypic expression of homozygous hemoglobin S in relation to β-globin haplotypes, glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms and detoxification enzymes

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) shows a pathophysiology that involves multiple changes in sickle cell erythrocytes, vaso-occlusive episodes, hemolysis, activation of inflammatory mediators, endothelial cell dysfunction, and oxidative stress. These events complicate treatment and culminate in the development of manifestations such as anemia, pain crises and multiorgan dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in SCA patients, oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity markers, correlating them to treatment with hydroxyurea (HU), β-globin haplotypes and glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms (GSTT1, GSTM1 and GSTP1), in comparison to a control group (CG). The study groups were composed of 48 individuals without hemoglobinopathies (CG), SCA patients treated with HU [AF (+HU), N = 13] and untreated SCA patients [AF (-HU), N = 15], after informed consent. The groups were analyzed using cytological, electrophoretic, chromatographic and molecular methods and information from medical records. The GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms were determined by multiplex PCR, while the GSTP1 polymorphism by PCR-RFLP. Biochemical parameters were measured using spectrophotometric methods [TBARS, TEAC and catalase (CAT) and GST activities] and a chromatographic method [glutathione (GSH)]. The fetal Hb (Hb F) levels observed in the SCA (+HU) group (10.9%) confirmed the already well-described pharmacological effect of HU, but the SCA (-HU) group also had high Hb F levels (6.1%), which may have been influenced by genetic factors not targeted in this study. We found a higher frequency of the Bantu haplotype (48.2%), followed by the Benin (32.1%) and also Cameroon haplotypes, rare in our population, and 19.7% of atypical haplotypes. The presence of Bantu haplotype was related to higher lipid peroxidation levels in patients, but also, it conferred a differential response to HU treatment, raising Hb F levels in 52.6% (P = 0.03). The protective effect of Hb F was confirmed, because the increase in their levels resulted in a 41.3% decrease in lipid peroxidation levels (r = -0.74, P = 0.0156). The genotypic frequency of the GST polymorphisms observed was similar to that of other studies in the Brazilian population, and its association with biochemical markers revealed a significant difference only for the GSTP1 polymorphism, where patients with genotype V/V showed higher GSH and TEAC levels (P = 0.04 and P = 0.03, respectively) compared to patients with genotype I/I. The TBARS levels were about five to eight times higher in the SCA (+HU) and SCA (-HU) groups, respectively, compared to controls, and HU produced a 35.2% decrease in lipid peroxidation levels in the SCA (+HU) group (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the SCA (+HU) group showed higher TEAC levels when compared to CG (P = 0.002). We did not find any significant difference in GST activity between the groups studied (P = 0.76), but CAT activity was about 17 and 30% lower in SCA (+HU) and SCA (-HU) groups, respectively (P < 0.00001). Plasma GSH levels were ~2 times higher in SCA patients than in the control group (P = 0.0005) and showed a positive correlation with TBARS levels, confirming its antioxidant function. HU treatment contributed to higher CAT activity and TEAC levels and lower lipid peroxidation, and its pharmacological effect showed a “haplotype-dependent” response. These findings may contribute to elucidating the potential of HU in ameliorating oxidative stress in SCA subjects.

Referência e code-switching: traços de singularidade na linguagem de uma criança bilíngue

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

As Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação TIC na formação de professores em educação sexual: o caso das E-Oficinas na I COES

This article aims to describe how ICT can contribute to the training of teachers on sex education through the lived experience with the implementation of Workshops, which occurred on I COES - I Conference online of sexual education. This Conference was organized by the University of Lisbon-PT, in partnership with UNESP, SP and SC-UDESC. I COES involved education professionals, who work directly in the school to discuss and exchange their experiences related to sexuality education and related fields, through an online space. The research on teacher formation, initial and continuing on sexuality, sex education, gender and sexual diversity, have demonstrated the need to promote and encourage teachers from all areas, to adopt an intentional and emancipatory, their role as sexual educators . Through web conferencing tool Cisco System, I COES was enable the interaction and questioning of ninety five teachers from various parts of Brazil and Portugal, providing opportunities for rich moments of dialogue and reflection on the issues already mentioned, referring to the brazilian and portuguese realities.

Cómo potenciar el valor didáctico de un diccionario pasivo español-portugués: la macroestructura

The aim of this article is to present theoretical-methodological reflections upon the design of the macrostructure of a passive Spanish-Portuguese dictionary for Brazilian learners. In order to fulfill its didactic value, this dictionary have to possess the following characteristics: (i) the function of the dictionary; (ii) the profile of the consumers, and (iii) the similarities between Spanish and Portuguese languages.

Clinical assessment of nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth in a group of brazilian patients

Although it has been established that nifedipine is associated with gingival overgrowth (GO), there is little information on the prevalence and severity of this condition in the Brazilian population. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of nifedipine-induced GO in Brazilian patients and the risk factors associated using a Clinical Index for Drug Induced Gingival Overgrowth (Clinical Index DIGO). The study was carried out on 35 patients under treatment with nifedipine (test group) and 35 patients without treatment (control group). Variables such as demographic (age, gender), pharmacological (dose, time of use), periodontal (plaque index, gingival index, probing depth, clinical insertion level, and bleeding on probing), and GO were assessed. Statistical analysis showed no association between GO and demographic or pharmacological variables. However, there was an association between GO and periodontal variables, except for plaque index. According to our study, the Clinical Index DIGO can be used as a parameter to evaluate GO. Therefore, we conclude that the presence of gingival inflammation was the main risk factor for the occurrence of nifedipine-induced GO.

João Antônio e a forma do conto-reportagem: um estudo das fronteiras entre literatura e jornalismo em Malhação do Judas Carioca (1975)

Este trabalho teve como propósito central analisar as relações entre o jornalismo e a literatura em Malhação do Judas Carioca (1975), de autoria João Antônio. A obra em análise mostrou ter sido estabelecida sob os auspícios da forma do conto-reportagem, com um regime de diálogo que ora se fixa na matriz jornalística, que ora se fixa no plano mais literário e ficcional. Para atingir tais objetivos, percorremos diversas etapas ao longo do desenvolvimento e elaboração do trabalho. Após delimitarmos conceitualmente as categorias de conto e reportagem e, assim, situarmos o lugar de João Antônio na imprensa e na literatura dos anos 1970, partiu-se, na segunda etapa da pesquisa, para a análise da obra Malhação. Este trabalho, fruto de pesquisa de iniciação científica para FAPESP, procurou se situar numa lacuna de estudos existente nos estudos de jornalismo autoral, dando especial ênfase à relação de João Antônio com o mundo jornalístico

A transferência da família real portuguesa para o Brasil: explicação histórica em estudantes brasileiros e portugueses

Based on the relationship between the concept of Historical Consciousness, as Jörn Rüsen and Reinhart Koselleck proposed, and the concept of Historical Explanation, proposed by Isabel Barca, the article presents an analytical course that allows you to check levels of explanation in historical narratives produced by students Brazilian and Portuguese from the interpretation of sources related to a historical fact: the transfer of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil (1808).

Por um ensino de história com sentido para a vida

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)