Práticas de gestão da melhoria contínua e aprendizado e suas contribuições para a capacidade de inovação na indústria de construção naval do Brasil

After years of stagnation, the naval construction industry in Brazil has been experiencing a period of recovery caused by investments in the oil and gas sector and the implementation of governmental programs that aimed to regenerate it. However, efforts in learning and innovations are needed in order to reinsert the country in this activity and achieve international levels of competitiveness. Based on literature about learning processes and continuous improvement practices and their impact in the innovative and productive processes, this paper aims to identify the main tendencies, mechanisms and procedures to improve the construction and management processes in the Brazilian naval construction industry. The methodology used for the data analysis classifies obtained information from magazines and annals of congresses of the sector, according to the established analysis categories (phenomena). Such categories study information related to the productive and technological processes of the industry, the main internal and external relations of the industrial park, the management of resources and processes, policies, investments, etc. The data was collected in the period 2004-2010, and more than 500 registers that show a dominance of the investment phenomenon, especially in the increase of productive capacity, were catalogued. In addition to this, there is evidence of modernization in the manufacturing plan and the equipment, diverse forms of cooperation, implementation of human resources management practices and engineering or processes and products. Hence, a process of catching up governs and is guided by modernization and increase training in this industry.

Perfil hemostático e hematológico de equinos com compactação de cólon maior submetidos ao tratamento medicamentoso

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Crise da esquerda comunista: políticas do PCI e do PCP sobre a união europeia

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Construção e avaliação térmica de um sistema concentrador parabólico com seguidor solar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O processo de liderança na perspectiva de enfermeiros da estratégia de saúde da família de Botucatu: uma pesquisa-ação

Pós-graduação em Enfermagem - FMB

Diagnostic techniques for EHD and MHD interaction

The impact of plasma technologies is growing both in the academic and in the industrial fields. Nowadays, a great interest is focused in plasma applications in aeronautics and astronautics domains. Plasma actuators based on the Magneto-Hydro-Dynamic (MHD) and Electro- Hydro-Dynamic (EHD) interactions are potentially able to suitably modify the fluid-dynamics characteristics around a flying body without utilizing moving parts. This could lead to the control of an aircraft with negligible response time, more reliability and improvements of the performance. In order to study the aforementioned interactions, a series of experiments and a wide number of diagnostic techniques have been utilized. The EHD interaction, realized by means of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) actuator, and its impact on the boundary layer have been evaluated by means of two different experiments. In the first one a three phase multi-electrode flat panel actuator is used. Different external flow velocities (from 1 to 20m/s) and different values of the supplied voltage and frequency have been considered. Moreover a change of the phase sequence has been done to verify the influence of the electric field existing between successive phases. Measurements of the induced speed had shown the effect of the supply voltage and the frequency, and the phase order in the momentum transfer phenomenon. Gains in velocity, inside the boundary layer, of about 5m/s have been obtained. Spectroscopic measurements allowed to determine the rotational and the vibrational temperature of the plasma which lie in the range of 320 ÷ 440°K and of 3000 ÷ 3900°K respectively. A deviation from thermodynamic equilibrium had been found. The second EHD experiment is realized on a single electrode pair DBD actuator driven by nano-pulses superimposed to a DC or an AC bias. This new supply system separates the plasma formation mechanism from the acceleration action on the fluid, leading to an higher degree of the control of the process. Both the voltage and the frequency of the nano-pulses and the amplitude and the waveform of the bias have been varied during the experiment. Plasma jets and vortex behavior had been observed by means of fast Schlieren imaging. This allowed a deeper understanding of the EHD interaction process. A velocity increase in the boundary layer of about 2m/s had been measured. Thrust measurements have been performed by means of a scales and compared with experimental data reported in the literature. For similar voltage amplitudes thrust larger than those of the literature, had been observed. Surface charge measurements led to realize a modified DBD actuator able to obtain similar performances when compared with that of other experiments. However in this case a DC bias replacing the AC bias had been used. MHD interaction experiments had been carried out in a hypersonic wind tunnel in argon with a flow of Mach 6. Before the MHD experiments a thermal, fluid-dynamic and plasma characterization of the hypersonic argon plasma flow have been done. The electron temperature and the electron number density had been determined by means of emission spectroscopy and microwave absorption measurements. A deviation from thermodynamic equilibrium had been observed. The electron number density showed to be frozen at the stagnation region condition in the expansion through the nozzle. MHD experiments have been performed using two axial symmetric test bodies. Similar magnetic configurations were used. Permanent magnets inserted into the test body allowed to generate inside the plasma azimuthal currents around the conical shape of the body. These Faraday currents are responsible of the MHD body force which acts against the flow. The MHD interaction process has been observed by means of fast imaging, pressure and electrical measurements. Images showed bright rings due to the Faraday currents heating and exciting the plasma particles. Pressure measurements showed increases of the pressure in the regions where the MHD interaction is large. The pressure is 10 to 15% larger than when the MHD interaction process is silent. Finally by means of electrostatic probes mounted flush on the test body lateral surface Hall fields of about 500V/m had been measured. These results have been used for the validation of a numerical MHD code.

Medicalgenomics.org : an open source database and retrieval system for biomedical analysis

Die Molekularbiologie von Menschen ist ein hochkomplexes und vielfältiges Themengebiet, in dem in vielen Bereichen geforscht wird. Der Fokus liegt hier insbesondere auf den Bereichen der Genomik, Proteomik, Transkriptomik und Metabolomik, und Jahre der Forschung haben große Mengen an wertvollen Daten zusammengetragen. Diese Ansammlung wächst stetig und auch für die Zukunft ist keine Stagnation absehbar. Mittlerweile aber hat diese permanente Informationsflut wertvolles Wissen in unüberschaubaren, digitalen Datenbergen begraben und das Sammeln von forschungsspezifischen und zuverlässigen Informationen zu einer großen Herausforderung werden lassen. Die in dieser Dissertation präsentierte Arbeit hat ein umfassendes Kompendium von humanen Geweben für biomedizinische Analysen generiert. Es trägt den Namen medicalgenomics.org und hat diverse biomedizinische Probleme auf der Suche nach spezifischem Wissen in zahlreichen Datenbanken gelöst. Das Kompendium ist das erste seiner Art und sein gewonnenes Wissen wird Wissenschaftlern helfen, einen besseren systematischen Überblick über spezifische Gene oder funktionaler Profile, mit Sicht auf Regulation sowie pathologische und physiologische Bedingungen, zu bekommen. Darüber hinaus ermöglichen verschiedene Abfragemethoden eine effiziente Analyse von signalgebenden Ereignissen, metabolischen Stoffwechselwegen sowie das Studieren der Gene auf der Expressionsebene. Die gesamte Vielfalt dieser Abfrageoptionen ermöglicht den Wissenschaftlern hoch spezialisierte, genetische Straßenkarten zu erstellen, mit deren Hilfe zukünftige Experimente genauer geplant werden können. Infolgedessen können wertvolle Ressourcen und Zeit eingespart werden, bei steigenden Erfolgsaussichten. Des Weiteren kann das umfassende Wissen des Kompendiums genutzt werden, um biomedizinische Hypothesen zu generieren und zu überprüfen.

Analysis of evening and morning transitions in complex terrain: MATERHORN campaign 2013

A field study of thermal circulation over very gentle slope is described for a specific day characterised by weak synoptic conditions. The emphasis was on morning and evening transitions, but measurements cover the entire day; therefore a brief analysis is performed to represent the general thermal circulation pattern. Both transition periods are characterised by complex dynamic behaviours. During evening transition, the upslope flow has got through a stagnation condition characterised by wind velocity U<0:5 m=s. Only when the stagnating air has become negative buoyant, the flow is allowed to pour downslope like a slab. Some features of front formation has been found during the transition development, such as delay time of downslope flow start up along the slope, and the presence of positive turbulent kinetic energy at the onset of the motion. Eventually the observed evening transition has followed a mixed mechanisms, with features from different models. Therefore the Rayleigh number seems not to be a good criterion by which parametrise evening transition itself. Morning transition is characterised by destruction of nocturnal temperature inversion and the onset of upslope flow. Inversion destruction can be described in terms of CBL growth at surface and inversion decent from the top of the layer. KH has found to be a good indicator of inversion breakup, if used as parameter to study the inversion breakup in terms of temperature reversal. After the inversion breakup, buoyancy and mechanical productions supply the flow with the necessary energy to start the upslope wind. More quantitative analysis are provided by the study of stability parameters and turbulent kinetic energy budgets. Gradient Richardson number has been used in this terms, finding that a mixed SBL-CBL behaviour dominates the most of the observed layers. Tke budget has shown high turbulent behaviour during morning transition while the evening transition has developed entirely in laminar condition, apart from short intermittent turbulent events.

In Vitro Evaluation of Ventricular Cannulation for Rotodynamic Cardiac Assist Devices

The influence of positioning and geometry of ventricular cannulas for contemporary continuous flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) was evaluated in a non-beating isolated heart preparation with borescopic visualization. Preload and LVAD flow were varied to evaluate degrees of ventricular decompression up to the point of ventricular collapse. The performance of a flanged cannula was compared to a conventional bevel-tipped cannula: quantitatively by the maximal flow attainable, and qualitatively by visualization of fluid tracer particles within the ventricular chamber. Three forms of ventricular suck-down occurred: concentric collapse, gradual entrainment and instantaneous entrainment. In some circumstances, unstable oscillations of the ventricle were observed prior to complete collapse. Under conditions of low preload, the flanged cannula demonstrated less positional sensitivity, provided greater flow, and exhibited fewer areas of stagnation than the beveled cannula. These observations warrant further consideration of a flanged ventricular cannula to mitigate complications encountered with conventional cannulae.

The simultaneous role of an alveolus as flow mixer and flow feeder for the deposition of inhaled submicron particles

In an effort to understand the fate of inhaled submicron particles in the small sacs, or alveoli, comprising the gas-exchange region of the lung, we calculated the flow in three-dimensional (3D) rhythmically expanding models of alveolated ducts. Since convection toward the alveolar walls is a precursor to particle deposition, it was the goal of this paper to investigate the streamline maps' dependence upon alveoli location along the acinar tree. On the alveolar midplane, the recirculating flow pattern exhibited closed streamlines with a stagnation saddle point. Off the midplane we found no closed streamlines but nested, funnel-like, spiral, structures (reminiscent of Russian nesting dolls) that were directed towards the expanding walls in inspiration, and away from the contracting walls in expiration. These nested, funnel-like, structures were surrounded by air that flowed into the cavity from the central channel over inspiration and flowed from the cavity to the central channel over expiration. We also found that fluid particle tracks exhibited similar nested funnel-like spiral structures. We conclude that these unique alveolar flow structures may be of importance in enhancing deposition. In addition, due to inertia, the nested, funnel-like, structures change shape and position slightly during a breathing cycle, resulting in flow mixing. Also, each inspiration feeds a fresh supply of particle-laden air from the central channel to the region surrounding the mixing region. Thus, this combination of flow mixer and flow feeder makes each individual alveolus an effective mixing unit, which is likely to play an important role in determining the overall efficiency of convective mixing in the acinus.

The Charity and the Poverty

At the end of the middle Ages, financial savings institutions developed, largely in response to the increasingly usurious money-lending practices of the Jews and to the adaptation of church authorities to the by then well developed commercial and financial operations. It was the Franciscan Order that took the initiative to develop such institutions, first in Italy and later in other western European Mediterranean towns. These were the so-called Monte di Pieta, which lent money at low rates of interest taking objects in pawn as security. However, as they had to operate with circulating capital and on the principles of savings banks, they may be considered to be the predecessors of modern banks. Although charity was declared in the very names of these institutions, this was no longer in the sense of the medieval mercy towards the virtuous poor, but more a support for impoverished members of higher social strata, as loan applicants had to place valuable movable property in pawn, meaning that they first had to possess such property. In spite of this, the institutions had the character of the primeval accumulation of capital, although not so much for individuals as for a community or, in the latter's name, for a commune, i.e. the local authority, which at least in the cases of Koper and Piran was also the founder. However, the stagnation of trade with the hinterland and the decline in the economic power of the Venetian Republic, particularly in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, pushed pawnshops into a more miserable existence, with ups and downs linked with the irregularities of profit-making on behalf of the institution, particularly by its clerks.

Squared Extrapolation Methods (SQUAREM): A New Class of Simple and Efficient Numerical Schemes for Accelerating the Convergence of the EM Algorithm

We derive a new class of iterative schemes for accelerating the convergence of the EM algorithm, by exploiting the connection between fixed point iterations and extrapolation methods. First, we present a general formulation of one-step iterative schemes, which are obtained by cycling with the extrapolation methods. We, then square the one-step schemes to obtain the new class of methods, which we call SQUAREM. Squaring a one-step iterative scheme is simply applying it twice within each cycle of the extrapolation method. Here we focus on the first order or rank-one extrapolation methods for two reasons, (1) simplicity, and (2) computational efficiency. In particular, we study two first order extrapolation methods, the reduced rank extrapolation (RRE1) and minimal polynomial extrapolation (MPE1). The convergence of the new schemes, both one-step and squared, is non-monotonic with respect to the residual norm. The first order one-step and SQUAREM schemes are linearly convergent, like the EM algorithm but they have a faster rate of convergence. We demonstrate, through five different examples, the effectiveness of the first order SQUAREM schemes, SqRRE1 and SqMPE1, in accelerating the EM algorithm. The SQUAREM schemes are also shown to be vastly superior to their one-step counterparts, RRE1 and MPE1, in terms of computational efficiency. The proposed extrapolation schemes can fail due to the numerical problems of stagnation and near breakdown. We have developed a new hybrid iterative scheme that combines the RRE1 and MPE1 schemes in such a manner that it overcomes both stagnation and near breakdown. The squared first order hybrid scheme, SqHyb1, emerges as the iterative scheme of choice based on our numerical experiments. It combines the fast convergence of the SqMPE1, while avoiding near breakdowns, with the stability of SqRRE1, while avoiding stagnations. The SQUAREM methods can be incorporated very easily into an existing EM algorithm. They only require the basic EM step for their implementation and do not require any other auxiliary quantities such as the complete data log likelihood, and its gradient or hessian. They are an attractive option in problems with a very large number of parameters, and in problems where the statistical model is complex, the EM algorithm is slow and each EM step is computationally demanding.

Patentability and Scope of Protection for DNA Sequence

Since the mapping of the human genome and the technical innovations in the field of biotechnology, patent law has gone through great controversies. Protection is required for an investor to make an investment but how broad should the given protection be? Whether the invention is a mi- cro-organism capable of dissolving crude oil, or the gene of a soya plant, the genetic engineering required for their production entails vast amounts of capi- tal. The policy in that respect is tailored by legislative acts and judicial decisions, ensuring a fair balance be- tween the interests of patent right holders and third parties. However, the policy differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, thus creating inconsistencies with re- gards to the given protection to the same invention, and as a result this could deter innovation and pro- mote stagnation. The most active actors shaping the patent policy on an international level are the patent offices of the United States of America, Japan and the European Patent Organization. These three patent offices have set up a cooperation programme in order to promote and improve efficiency with regards to their patent policies on a global scale. However, recent judicial de- velopments have shown that the policy in respect to the field of biotechnology differs between the patent regimes of the United States of America and the two- layer system of the European Patent Organisation/ the European Union.

Auswirkungen der Klimaänderung auf die schweizerische Wasserkraftnutzung

Hydraulic power contributes for a large part to electricity production in Switzerland. However, hydropower could be strongly affected by climate change. For that reason, the project CCWasserkraft – which results are summarised here – has been launched. In different studies, important aspects of the interactions between climate, hydrology and hydropower were investigated. Comprehensive simulations in representative catchments allowed quantifying the impacts of climate change on discharge and hydropower production. Finally, the results were extrapolated to whole Switzerland. The results show that significant changes are likely in the near future 2021–2050: an increase of hydropower production is projected for the winter half year, whereas stagnation or a decrease is expected in the summer half year. On the whole, the yearly hydropower production should remain constant or could even increase slightly. Projections for 2070–2099 remain uncertain. However, hydropower production from highly glaciated catchments located in southern and eastern Valais as well as catchments south of the Alps is expected to decline.

Cohort-specific effects of the expansion of the welfare state on job opportunities: a longitudinal analysis of three birth cohorts in the Federal Republic of Germany

Ziel der Untersuchung war es, Einflüsse auf den Arbeitsmarkt der Bundesrepublik durch das Anwachsen des Wohlfahrtsstaates zu ermitteln. Zu diesem Zweck wurden zwischen 1981 und 1983 2.171 Männer und Frauen der Geburtskohorten 1929-31, 1939-41 und 1949-51 mit standardisierten Interviews befragt zu ihrem Lebensverlauf, speziell unter den Gesichtspunkten: Soziale Herkunft, Ausbildung, Beschäftigung, Familie, Mobilität. Insbesondere interessierte die Frage nach der Beschäftigung im öffentlichen Dienst oder in der Privatwirtschaft bzw. ob und wann ein Wechsel von einem in den anderen Bereich stattgefunden hat. Einige Ergebnisse: Die Bildungsexpansion in den 70er Jahren führte dazu, daß eine steigende Anzahl von Universitätsabsolventen im öffentlichen Dienst Beschäftigung fand; seit der Stagnation des Wohlfahrtsstaates ab ca. 1980 sind die Beschäftigungschancen für hochqualifizierte Berufsanfänger dort wieder gesunken. In der Privatwirtschaft wird unqualifizierte Beschäftigung durch höher qualifizierte ersetzt, während im öffentlichen Dienst bei geringerem Arbeitsplatzangebot weniger hochqualifizierte Berufsanfänger nachgefragt werden.