Norm-based behaviour modification in BDI agents

While there has been much work on developing frameworks and models of norms and normative systems, consideration of the impact of norms on the practical reasoning of agents has attracted less attention. The problem is that traditional agent architectures and their associated languages provide no mechanism to adapt an agent at runtime to norms constraining their behaviour. This is important because if BDI-type agents are to operate in open environments, they need to adapt to changes in the norms that regulate such environments. In response, in this paper we provide a technique to extend BDI agent languages, by enabling them to enact behaviour modification at runtime in response to newly accepted norms. Our solution consists of creating new plans to comply with obligations and suppressing the execution of existing plans that violate prohibitions. We demonstrate the viability of our approach through an implementation of our solution in the AgentSpeak(L) language.

Arte, prazer e bisturi: construção corporal através da body modification

In view of a field research carried out by a team connected to the universe of body modification, it is possible to discern some uses and meanings linked to these forms of body interventions. Body modification or body change is part of the circuit of piercings and tattoos, although they are socially less thinned and more extreme, like scarifications, subcutaneous implants, bifurcated tongues, surfaces and body suspensions. The aim of this paper is to cast an anthropological glance on these practices, joining at the same context all the subjects involved with these techniques, placing them inside the same relational focus and capturing their journeys and trajectories. The discussions are concentrated on the notion of body building and urban life style. Ideas as personal distinctness and prestige imitation are also present in this universe, as well as matters attached to genre, pleasure, art, and to the so-called alternative circuit . This way, the ethnography so far presented here, reveals the complex and contemporaneous character of these practices of body markings in which the body appears as the central element in the experiences of the subjects of this study

Physical and chemical changes in juvenile and mature woods of Pinus elliottii var. elliottii by thermal modification

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Chemical Modification of Botryosphaeran: Structural Characterization and Anticoagulant Activity of a Water-Soluble Sulfonated (1 -> 3)(1 -> 6)-beta-D-Glucan

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Functional significance of eIF5A and its hypusine modification in eukaryotes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Production of active recombinant eIF5A: reconstitution in E.coli of eukaryotic hypusine modification of eIF5A by its coexpression with modifying enzymes

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is the only cellular protein that contains the polyamine-modified lysine, hypusine [N(epsilon)-(4-amino-2-hydroxybutyl)lysine]. Hypusine occurs only in eukaryotes and certain archaea, but not in eubacteria. It is formed post-translationally by two consecutive enzymatic reactions catalyzed by deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS) and deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DOHH). Hypusine modification is essential for the activity of eIF5A and for eukaryotic cell proliferation. eIF5A binds to the ribosome and stimulates translation in a hypusine-dependent manner, but its mode of action in translation is not well understood. Since quantities of highly pure hypusine-modified eIF5A is desired for structural studies as well as for determination of its binding sites on the ribosome, we have used a polycistronic vector, pST39, to express eIF5A alone, or to co-express human eIF5A-1 with DHS or with both DHS and DOHH in Escherichia coli cells, to engineer recombinant proteins, unmodified eIF5A, deoxyhypusine- or hypusine-modified eIF5A. We have accomplished production of three different forms of recombinant eIF5A in high quantity and purity. The recombinant hypusine-modified eIF5A was as active in methionyl-puromycin synthesis as the native, eIF5A (hypusine form) purified from mammalian tissue. The recombinant eIF5A proteins will be useful tools in future structure/function and the mechanism studies in translation.

Silicon carbide surface modification by nitrogen plasma expander

Silicon carbide (SiC) has been employed in many different fields such as ballistic armor, thermal coating, high performance mirror substrate, semiconductors devices, among other things. Plasma application over the silicon carbide ceramics is relatively recent and it is able to promote relevant superficial modifications. Plasma expander was used in this work which was supplied by nitrogen and switched by a capacitor bank. Nitrogen plasma was applied over ceramic samples for 20 minutes, in a total medium of 1440 plasma pulses. SiC ceramics were produced by uniaxial pressing method (40 MPa) associated to isostatic pressing (300 MPa) and sintered at 1950 degrees C under argon gas atmosphere. Silicon carbide (beta-sic - BF-12) supplied by HC-Starck and sintering additive (7.6% YAG - Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) were used in order to obtain the ceramics. Before and after the plasma application, the samples were characterized by SEM, AFM, contact angle and surface energy measurement.

Surface modification of siloxane containing polyurethane polymer by dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Modification of polyethylene terephthalate by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in view of improving the polymer wetting properties

Surface treatment of polymers by discharge plasmas has increasingly found industrial applications due to its capability of modifying uniformly the surface without changing the material bulk properties. This work deals with surface modification of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure. The treatments were conducted in air, nitrogen or argon plasma. The polymer surface was characterized by contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the plasma treatment introduces oxygen-and nitrogen-related polar groups on the polymer surface and promotes the surface roughening. Both plasma-induced surface modifications contribute to the enhancement of the polymer wettability.

CHEMICAL MODIFICATION EFFECT on THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES of HIPS/COCONUT FIBER COMPOSITES

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Surface Modification of Polycarbonate by Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jets

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

SURFACE MODIFICATION of SUGARCANE BAGASSE CELLULOSE and ITS EFFECT on MECHANICAL and WATER ABSORPTION PROPERTIES of SUGARCANE BAGASSE CELLULOSE HDPE COMPOSITES

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effects of lanthanum modification on dielectric properties of Pb(Zr-0.90,Ti-0.10)O-3 ceramics: enhanced antiferroelectric stability

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)