Um sistema inteligente de teleoftalmologia para o auxílio no diagnóstico de catarata

The increasing in world population, with higher proportion of elderly, leads to an increase in the number of individuals with vision loss and cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Cataract is an eye disease that is the partial or total opacity of the crystalline lens (natural lens of the eye) or its capsule. It can be triggered by several factors such as trauma, age, diabetes mellitus, and medications, among others. It is known that the attendance by ophthalmologists in rural and poor areas in Brazil is less than needed and many patients with treatable diseases such as cataracts are undiagnosed and therefore untreated. In this context, this project presents the development of OPTICA, a system of teleophthalmology using smartphones for ophthalmic emergencies detection, providing a diagnostic aid for cataract using specialists systems and image processing techniques. The images are captured by a cellphone camera and along with a questionnaire filled with patient information are transmitted securely via the platform Mobile SANA to a online server that has an intelligent system available to assist in the diagnosis of cataract and provides ophthalmologists who analyze the information and write back the patient’s report. Thus, the OPTICA provides eye care to the poorest and least favored population, improving the screening of critically ill patients and increasing access to diagnosis and treatment.

Modelo comportamental do capacitor ferroelétrico como unidade básica de neurônios artificiais e sua implementação em FPGA

This work proposes the use of the behavioral model of the hysteresis loop of the ferroelectrics capacitor as a new alternative to the usually costly techniques in the computation of nonlinear functions in artificial neurons implemented on reconfigurable hardware platform, in this case, a FPGA device. Initially the proposal has been validated by the implementation of the boolean logic through the digital models of two artificial neurons: the Perceptron and a variation of the model Integrate and Fire Spiking Neuron, both using the model also digital of the hysteresis loop of the ferroelectric capacitor as it’s basic nonlinear unit for the calculations of the neurons outputs. Finally, it has been used the analog model of the ferroelectric capacitor with the goal of verifying it’s effectiveness and possibly the reduction of the number of necessary logic elements in the case of implementing the artificial neurons on integrated circuit. The implementations has been carried out by Simulink models and the synthesizing has been done through the DSP Builder software from Altera Corporation.

Contribuições para o processo de verificação de satisfatibilidade módulo teoria em Event-B

Event-B is a formal method for modeling and verification of discrete transition systems. Event-B development yields proof obligations that must be verified (i.e. proved valid) in order to keep the produced models consistent. Satisfiability Modulo Theory solvers are automated theorem provers used to verify the satisfiability of logic formulas considering a background theory (or combination of theories). SMT solvers not only handle large firstorder formulas, but can also generate models and proofs, as well as identify unsatisfiable subsets of hypotheses (unsat-cores). Tool support for Event-B is provided by the Rodin platform: an extensible Eclipse based IDE that combines modeling and proving features. A SMT plug-in for Rodin has been developed intending to integrate alternative, efficient verification techniques to the platform. We implemented a series of complements to the SMT solver plug-in for Rodin, namely improvements to the user interface for when proof obligations are reported as invalid by the plug-in. Additionally, we modified some of the plug-in features, such as support for proof generation and unsat-core extraction, to comply with the SMT-LIB standard for SMT solvers. We undertook tests using applicable proof obligations to demonstrate the new features. The contributions described can potentially affect productivity in a positive manner.

Implementação da infra-estrutura e protocolo de comunicação para tratamento e disponibilização de dados do projeto ePoste

The study consists in the structure elaboration and the ePoste project communicationprotocol, which is a system of monitoring by wireless communication with the aim tosensor and act with one or many public lighting points, and also the treatment of data todetect the activity in the sensors located on the posts. Previously the communication withsensors were made in locus and when data collect was necessary or the performance inthe devices, the operator had to move until the net place. Accordingly, the purpose has theconcern to increase the system dynamic, achieving the possible integrations with the systemsalready available to the lighting management. The same technology of communicationbetween the sensors are considerate, using the ZigBee protocol running on the meshnet, the communication with this net is made be internet through a gateway by GPRS,device with two basics functionalities, which bypass for data and the firmware update inthe sensor. This functionality test of data management is being tested; integrate way withlocal net of sensors and the internet data server operates. The protocol developed, besidesincorporating the ZigBee, that it is formation of framework in lower level, where definesbeginning, size and errors check, as well as the communication of sensor with the concentrator,which it is encapsulated in ZigBee; also the protocol of upper level, where thatit is the names, it was developed a platform of service to meet GET and POST requestsbeneath HTTP protocol, this service is implemented in the data server, which availablethe communication with the clients systems, in case, lighting management systems.

Análise computacional de imagens de lâminas delgadas na predição dos parâmetros hidráulicos porosidade e condutividade hidráulica do aquífero Barreiras-RN

The understanding of the occurrence and flow of groundwater in the subsurface is of fundamental importance in the exploitation of water, just like knowledge of all associated hydrogeological context. These factors are primarily controlled by geometry of a certain pore system, given the nature of sedimentary aquifers. Thus, the microstructural characterization, as the interconnectivity of the system, it is essential to know the macro properties porosity and permeability of reservoir rock, in which can be done on a statistical characterization by twodimensional analysis. The latter is being held on a computing platform, using image thin sections of reservoir rock, allowing the prediction of the properties effective porosity and hydraulic conductivity. For Barreiras Aquifer to obtain such parameters derived primarily from the interpretation of tests of aquifers, a practice that usually involves a fairly complex logistics in terms of equipment and personnel required in addition to high cost of operation. Thus, the analysis and digital image processing is presented as an alternative tool for the characterization of hydraulic parameters, showing up as a practical and inexpensive method. This methodology is based on a flowchart work involving sampling, preparation of thin sections and their respective images, segmentation and geometric characterization, three-dimensional reconstruction and flow simulation. In this research, computational image analysis of thin sections of rocks has shown that aquifer storage coefficients ranging from 0,035 to 0,12 with an average of 0,076, while its hydrogeological substrate (associated with the top of the carbonate sequence outcropping not region) presents effective porosities of the order of 2%. For the transport regime, it is evidenced that the methodology presents results below of those found in the bibliographic data relating to hydraulic conductivity, mean values of 1,04 x10-6 m/s, with fluctuations between 2,94 x10-6 m/s and 3,61x10-8 m/s, probably due to the larger scale study and the heterogeneity of the medium studied.

As relações da tríplice hélice nas fundações de apoio brasileiras: uma avaliação da dinâmica de captação de recursos para projetos de inovação

Foundations support constitute one of the types of legal entities of private law forged with the purpose of supporting research projects, education and extension and institutional, scientific and technological development of Brazil. Observed as links of the relationship between company, university, and government, foundations supporting emerge in the Brazilian scene from the principle to establish an economic platform of development based on three pillars: science, technology and innovation – ST&I. In applied terms, these ones operate as tools of debureaucratisation making the management between public entities more agile, especially in the academic management in accordance with the approach of Triple Helix. From the exposed, the present study has as purpose understanding how the relation of Triple Helix intervenes in the fund-raising process of Brazilian foundations support. To understand the relations submitted, it was used the interaction models University-Company-Government recommended by Sábato and Botana (1968), the approach of the Triple Helix proposed by Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff (2000), as well as the perspective of the national innovation systems discussed by Freeman (1987, 1995), Nelson (1990, 1993) and Lundvall (1992). The research object of this study consists of 26 state foundations that support research associated with the National Council of the State Foundations of Supporting Research - CONFAP, as well as the 102 foundations in support of IES associated with the National Council of Foundations of Support for Institutions of Higher Education and Scientific and Technological Research – CONFIES, totaling 128 entities. As a research strategy, this study is considered as an applied research with a quantitative approach. Primary research data were collected using the e-mail Survey procedure. Seventy-five observations were collected, which corresponds to 58.59% of the research universe. It is considering the use of the bootstrap method in order to validate the use of the sample in the analysis of results. For data analysis, it was used descriptive statistics and multivariate data analysis techniques: the cluster analysis; the canonical correlation and the binary logistic regression. From the obtained canonical roots, the results indicated that the dependency relationship between the variables of relations (with the actors of the Triple Helix) and the financial resources invested in innovation projects is low, assuming the null hypothesis of this study, that the relations of the Triple Helix do not have interfered positively or negatively in raising funds for investments in innovation projects. On the other hand, the results obtained with the cluster analysis indicate that entities which have greater quantitative and financial amounts of projects are mostly large foundations (over 100 employees), which support up to five IES, publish management reports and use in their capital structure, greater financing of the public department. Finally, it is pertinent to note that the power of the classification of the logistic model obtained in this study showed high predictive capacity (80.0%) providing to the academic community replication in environments of similar analysis.

Cloud query manager: uso de web semântica para evitar o problema de aprisionamento em IaaS

Cloud computing can be defined as a distributed computational model by through resources (hardware, storage, development platforms and communication) are shared, as paid services accessible with minimal management effort and interaction. A great benefit of this model is to enable the use of various providers (e.g a multi-cloud architecture) to compose a set of services in order to obtain an optimal configuration for performance and cost. However, the multi-cloud use is precluded by the problem of cloud lock-in. The cloud lock-in is the dependency between an application and a cloud platform. It is commonly addressed by three strategies: (i) use of intermediate layer that stands to consumers of cloud services and the provider, (ii) use of standardized interfaces to access the cloud, or (iii) use of models with open specifications. This paper outlines an approach to evaluate these strategies. This approach was performed and it was found that despite the advances made by these strategies, none of them actually solves the problem of lock-in cloud. In this sense, this work proposes the use of Semantic Web to avoid cloud lock-in, where RDF models are used to specify the features of a cloud, which are managed by SPARQL queries. In this direction, this work: (i) presents an evaluation model that quantifies the problem of cloud lock-in, (ii) evaluates the cloud lock-in from three multi-cloud solutions and three cloud platforms, (iii) proposes using RDF and SPARQL on management of cloud resources, (iv) presents the cloud Query Manager (CQM), an SPARQL server that implements the proposal, and (v) comparing three multi-cloud solutions in relation to CQM on the response time and the effectiveness in the resolution of cloud lock-in.

Preceptoria em profissionais de saúde: viabilizando meios para uma formação pedagógica em hospitais públicos em Natal-RN

This study aimed to construct and carry out a distance course of pedagogical training for health professional performing preceptorship functions in public health institutions. The preceptorship in health is a pedagogical practice that occurs in workplace, led by assistance professionals with teaching position or not, where the vast majority of these acts intuitively, reproducing their own training, confusing transmitting information with education. These preceptors often do not dominate the pedagogical knowledge, necessary for the organization of training activities, such as the various teaching-learning processes and the different assessment types. Student supervision is essential in the training process of students in the health field, and on the occasion of supervised internships that the teaching-learning process is based on practical experience with participation in real life situations and professional work. It was realized an exploratory study, descriptive with qualitative approach, with the development of tutoring teaching course in health as final product. Applied semi structured research instrument from may to july 2014. It were evaluated 162 health professionals who perform the preceptorship, which made it possible define the preceptor's profile and identify the educational requirements related to the educational process, which justified the construction of the program content and the professionals’ perception analysis about preceptorship through identification of three categories: clinic knowledge valuation; valuation of professional orientation and valuation of professional future. The course was available on distance mode through Moodle platform with forty hours of work load from October to November 2014. With the aim of capacitate the health professionals to development of necessary abilities and skills to tutoring performance through thoughts about tutoring concepts, professional training within the curricular guidelines and SUS precepts, the role of health professionals as educators, application of active teaching methodologies, and evaluation methods. The applications were done online through the provided link; 300 vacancies offered, 243 professionals applied, chosen 134 that works on tutoring, where 49 represented professionals that works on the location of the study. The course lasted 45 days, and counted with tutors responsible to interact and evaluate the students. 28 professionals joined the course, 12 concluded. Opportunities were identified to stimulate the involvement, however the professionals’ satisfaction shows that, make an investment on tutors education, starting from the Permanent Education precepts, will provide a bigger appropriation of the knowledge to the education and therefore the awareness of their role as an educator on work ambit, proportioning essential tools to tutors act while enabler of integration between theory and practice and result better teaching-learning process.

Análise do perfil de encaminhamento da atenção primária para pré-natal de alto risco: desafios para o ensino de competências em saúde materno-infantil

OBJECTIVE: to identify a profile of the main causes of inappropriate referrals from primary care to specialized services, as strategy for the curriculum development of core competencies related to maternal health. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was performed using document analysis of all referrals of pregnant women from primary care to the high-risk pregnancy service, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. All pregnant women referred from June to December 2014 (n = 771) were included. According to their causes the referrals were categorized as adequate, inadequate or inconclusive. RESULTS: a total of 188 referrals were classified as inadequate (24.4%) and 93 inconclusive (12.1%) totalizing 36.5% of inappropriate referrals. The main causes identified in these inappropriate referrals were: low-risk pregnancy (12.8%), unconfirmed hypertension (12.1%), risk of abortion (8.9%), teenage pregnancy (7.1%) , toxoplasmosis (5.3%), Rh incompatibility (4.6%) and urinary tract infection (4.3%). These data contributed to the formulation of the following products: 1) a continuing education program for health professionals working in primary care, undergraduate students and residents; and 2) development of a virtual platform to support professionals who need to refer patients to high-risk pregnancy service. CONCLUSION: the results of this study are relevant in the current context of education of health professionals, with potential for positively impact not only in the development of skills related to maternal health in undergraduate and graduate education, as well as contributing for improvement of the health care of the population.

A intercompreensão em Línguas Românicas nas aulas de Espanhol: o que querem e o que podem essas línguas?

The official documents that guide the teaching and learning process of a Foreign Language in Brazil, Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de Língua Estrangeira, suggest a linguistic and intercultural communication as the main objective of teaching a foreign language inorderto contribute withareflexive formation of the students.Toachieve this goal, a Virtual Interchange was realized connecting distant places like Córdoba, in Argentina, and Natal in Brazil, between High School students through Moodle platform and Facebook. The Interchange is based in the Intercomprehension in Romance Languages(IC) guidelines, inthiscase between Portuguese and Spanish, according to which every student speaks their own language and makes an effort to comprehend the others througha collaborative process thatgo es beyond the limits of mere linguistic objectives and favors the students’ reality acceptance before the diversity. This qualitative study with thno graphic characteristic stries to know whe ther differentiate projects can increase students’ interest to learn the target language. It was also set as an aim of this study to develop the intercultural competence of our students and foster the respect for different cultures. In the case of Argentinian and Brazilian students, wetried to promote reflection about social representation trying to destroy stereotypes between both groups. As methodological resources, we used interviews, questionnaires and intercomprehension activities during the Project, as well as a participant observation of the interactions betweenthe students of both countries.Webe lieve tobe contributing towards the integral formation ofth student asacriticalcitizenthatthinksa bouttheir posture before the world, which is one of the formal education aims according to Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais. Our theoretical foundation is based on Intercomprehension in Romance Languages (IC) as a plurilingualism didactics, (JAMET AND SPIŢĂ 2010; ARAÚJO AND SÁ et al., 2003; CAPUCHO, 2010; ANDRADE etal.,2003), some the oriesaboutinter culturalisman didentity(Vallespir, 1999;DUARTE&SANCHES,2004; REVUZ,1998;SILVA,2000;CHAUÍ2006; SERRANI-INFANTE 1998), motivation and second language learning (DECI & RYAN, 1985; DÖRNYEI AND OTTÓ, 1998; DÖRNYEI, 2000, 2001; 2011) and Significant Learning Theory (AUSUBEL, 1968). The results show an increase of students’ motivation when in contact with the target language through dynamic activities in an IC context. Moreover, we noticed that a deeper thinking aboutthe Argentinian culture helped to deconstruct previous cultural representation.

Uma plataforma adaptável para localização em ambientes internos

Location systems have become increasingly part of people's lives. For outdoor environments, GPS appears as standard technology, widely disseminated and used. However, people usually spend most of their daily time in indoor environments, such as: hospitals, universities, factories, buildings, etc. In these environments, GPS does not work properly causing an inaccurate positioning. Currently, to perform the location of people or objects in indoor environments no single technology could reproduce for indoors the same result achieved by GPS for outdoors environments. Due to this, it is necessary to consider use of information from multiple sources using diferent technologies. Thus, this work aims to build an Adaptable Platform for Indoor location. Based on this goal, the IndoLoR platform is proposed. This platform aims to allow information reception from diferent sources, data processing, data fusion, data storage and data retrieval for the indoor location context.

Uma plataforma adaptável para localização em ambientes internos

Location systems have become increasingly part of people's lives. For outdoor environments, GPS appears as standard technology, widely disseminated and used. However, people usually spend most of their daily time in indoor environments, such as: hospitals, universities, factories, buildings, etc. In these environments, GPS does not work properly causing an inaccurate positioning. Currently, to perform the location of people or objects in indoor environments no single technology could reproduce for indoors the same result achieved by GPS for outdoors environments. Due to this, it is necessary to consider use of information from multiple sources using diferent technologies. Thus, this work aims to build an Adaptable Platform for Indoor location. Based on this goal, the IndoLoR platform is proposed. This platform aims to allow information reception from diferent sources, data processing, data fusion, data storage and data retrieval for the indoor location context.

Uso didático do Facebook como estratégia de leitura para o gênero textual poesia

The poor performance of students in reading and writing activities, prompted the search for actions that would minimize this problem, noticeable mainly in public education. The lack of interest in reading of poetic texts seen in students from the 7th year in a public school in RN, has led us to question the reasons for the rejection of poetry. Thus, the idea to organize and develop new reading possibilities mediated by digital technologies, considering the preference of teenagers by virtual environments. Therefore, it was essential to observe how students used web resources in order to plan actions that aimed to improve their reading performance. We present to justify the need for reflection on the educational problems starting from our reality, in order to establish appropriate procedures to minimize them. To this end, we draw is to investigate how students appropriated the Facebook social network in order to elaborate reading strategies using this platform. The study is anchored in the reflections of the following theorists and researchers: language concepts and language: Bakhtin (2011 [1979] 2006 [1999]), Bronckart (2012 [1999]), Marcuschi (2008); reading strategies: Leffa (1996) Solé (1998), Antunes (2009), Kleiman (2013); genre: Bakhtin (2011 [1979] 2006 [1999]), Marcuschi (2008); didactic sequence: Dolz, Noverraz and Schneuwly (2013 [2004]); technologies: Moran (2008 [2000]), Kenski (2007), Bento (2012), Behrens (2013); literary literacy: Cosson (2007); other theoretical orientations: PCN (1998), PDE (2008), Perrenoud (1999), among others. The methodology followed action research guidelines, a qualitative approach perspective. The research instruments included questionnaires, interviews, observations and field notes. The results pointed to the interest of students in this social network, which favored the development of a didactic sequence whose activities converged on the didactic use of Facebook as a support for the presentation of textual poetry genre, drawing the attention of students for reading. Thus, we reiterate the need to include the pedagogical use of Information and Communication Digital Technologies educational activities to better meet the expectations of the generation of "digital natives", offering them a significant Portuguese-speaking school that fits your interests.

Uso didático do Facebook como estratégia de leitura para o gênero textual poesia

The poor performance of students in reading and writing activities, prompted the search for actions that would minimize this problem, noticeable mainly in public education. The lack of interest in reading of poetic texts seen in students from the 7th year in a public school in RN, has led us to question the reasons for the rejection of poetry. Thus, the idea to organize and develop new reading possibilities mediated by digital technologies, considering the preference of teenagers by virtual environments. Therefore, it was essential to observe how students used web resources in order to plan actions that aimed to improve their reading performance. We present to justify the need for reflection on the educational problems starting from our reality, in order to establish appropriate procedures to minimize them. To this end, we draw is to investigate how students appropriated the Facebook social network in order to elaborate reading strategies using this platform. The study is anchored in the reflections of the following theorists and researchers: language concepts and language: Bakhtin (2011 [1979] 2006 [1999]), Bronckart (2012 [1999]), Marcuschi (2008); reading strategies: Leffa (1996) Solé (1998), Antunes (2009), Kleiman (2013); genre: Bakhtin (2011 [1979] 2006 [1999]), Marcuschi (2008); didactic sequence: Dolz, Noverraz and Schneuwly (2013 [2004]); technologies: Moran (2008 [2000]), Kenski (2007), Bento (2012), Behrens (2013); literary literacy: Cosson (2007); other theoretical orientations: PCN (1998), PDE (2008), Perrenoud (1999), among others. The methodology followed action research guidelines, a qualitative approach perspective. The research instruments included questionnaires, interviews, observations and field notes. The results pointed to the interest of students in this social network, which favored the development of a didactic sequence whose activities converged on the didactic use of Facebook as a support for the presentation of textual poetry genre, drawing the attention of students for reading. Thus, we reiterate the need to include the pedagogical use of Information and Communication Digital Technologies educational activities to better meet the expectations of the generation of "digital natives", offering them a significant Portuguese-speaking school that fits your interests.

Protótipo de rastreador solar de um eixo baseado em microcontrolador

The increase in the efficiency of photo-voltaic systems has been the object of various studies the past few years. One possible way to increase the power extracted by a photovoltaic panel is the solar tracking, performing its movement in order to follow the sun’s path. One way to activate the tracking system is using an electric induction motor, which should have sufficient torque and low speed, ensuring tracking accuracy. With the use of voltage source inverters and logic devices that generate the appropriate switching is possible to obtain the torque and speed required for the system to operate. This paper proposes the implementation of a angular position sensor and a driver to be applied in solar tracker built at a Power Electronics and Renewable Energies Laboratory, located in UFRN. The speed variation of the motor is performed via a voltage source inverter whose PWM command to actuate their keys will be implemented in an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) device and a TM4C microcontroller. A platform test with an AC induction machine of 1.5 CV was assembled for the comparative testing. The angular position sensor of the panel is implemented in a ATMega328 microcontroller coupled to an accelerometer, commanded by an Arduino prototyping board. The solar position is also calculated by the microcontroller from the geographic coordinates of the site where it was placed, and the local time and date obtained from an RTC (Real-Time Clock) device. A prototype of a solar tracker polar axis moved by a DC motor was assembled to certify the operation of the sensor and to check the tracking efficiency.