Improvement and evaluation of the MS2SV for mixed systems design described in abstraction high level

This paper presents an important improvement of the MS2SV tool. The MS2SV performs the translation of mixed systems developed in MATLAB / Simulink for a structural or behavioral description in VHDL-AMS. Previously, the MS2SV translated only models of the LIB MS2SV library. This improvement allows designer to create your own library to translation. As case study was used a rudder controller employed in an unmanned aerial vehicle. For comparison with the original model the VHDL-AMS code obtained by the translation was simulated in SystemVision environment. The results proved the efficiency of the tool using the translation improvement proposed in this paper.

Performance of children with learning difficulties in fine motor function and handwriting

This study aimed to compare and characterize the fine, sensory and perceptive function performance and handwriting quality between students with learning difficulties and students with good academic performance. Methods: This study comprised 192 students from 2nd to 4th grades, both genders, whose ages ranged from 7 to 11 years old. The students were distributed into: GI, GII, GIII and GIV, comprising 96 students with learning difficulties, and groups GV, GVI, GVII, GVIII comprising 96 students with good academic performance. The students were submitted to evaluation of fine motor, sensorial and perception functions and handwriting evaluation under dictation. Results: The results showed that the students with learning difficulties, from 1st to 3rd grade, had lower performance on tests of fine motor, sensory and perceptive function, when compared to the students with good academic performance in the same grade; the students from 4th grade, both groups, did not show changes on fine motor, sensory and perceptive function; and only the students of GII showed dysgraphia. Conclusions: the results presented in this study suggest that the qualitative aspects of fine motor, sensory and perceptive skills reflect the integrity and maturity of central nervous system and can probably play an important role in early diagnosis of development disorders and consequently prevent academic disorders such as handwriting performance.

Computer techniques towards the automatic characterization of graphite particles in metallographic images of industrial materials

The automatic characterization of particles in metallographic images has been paramount, mainly because of the importance of quantifying such microstructures in order to assess the mechanical properties of materials common used in industry. This automated characterization may avoid problems related with fatigue and possible measurement errors. In this paper, computer techniques are used and assessed towards the accomplishment of this crucial industrial goal in an efficient and robust manner. Hence, the use of the most actively pursued machine learning classification techniques. In particularity, Support Vector Machine, Bayesian and Optimum-Path Forest based classifiers, and also the Otsu's method, which is commonly used in computer imaging to binarize automatically simply images and used here to demonstrated the need for more complex methods, are evaluated in the characterization of graphite particles in metallographic images. The statistical based analysis performed confirmed that these computer techniques are efficient solutions to accomplish the aimed characterization. Additionally, the Optimum-Path Forest based classifier demonstrated an overall superior performance, both in terms of accuracy and speed. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ki-67 labeling in canine perianal glands neoplasms: A novel approach for immunohistological diagnostic and prognostic

Background: The antibody Ki-67 is a reliable and easy tool to accurately assess the growth fraction of neoplasms in humans and animals, and it has been used to predict the clinical outcome. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression pattern of Ki-67 in normal and neoplastic perianal glands of dogs to evaluate the possible use of this proliferation marker as an ancillary method of perianal tumor diagnosis. We studied 42 cases of perianal gland neoplasms including adenomas (n = 15), epitheliomas (n = 15), and carcinomas (n = 12). As controls, 13 tissue samples from normal perianal glands were used. A Ki-67 index was established by a computer-assisted image analysis and compared with manual counting. Results: Out of the 42 cases of perianal gland neoplasms, 34 were from males and eight from females. Recurrence was reported in 14 cases, being higher (8/12) in carcinomas. Immunostaining for Ki-67 revealed that the carcinomas showed a higher proliferation rate (9.87%) compared to groups of epitheliomas (2.66%) and adenomas (0.36%). For adenomas and epitheliomas of the perianal glands the computer-assisted counting and the manual counting gave similar results; however, only the computer-assisted image analysis was efficient to predict the perianal gland carcinoma recurrence.Conclusion: Since there were significant differences in the number of Ki-67-positive nuclei, this marker proved to be effective in helping the classification of perianal gland neoplasms and to refine the diagnosis criteria, especially in those samples with high variation in morphology/area. Also, higher Ki-67 index is related to recurrence in cases of perianal gland carcinomas. Further, the computer-assisted image analysis proved to be a fast and reliable method to assess the Ki-67 index in perianal gland neoplasms. © 2013 Pereira et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

White matter abnormalities associated with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: A critical review of MRI studies

In this article, the authors aim to present a critical review of recent MRI studies addressing white matter (WM) abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), by searching PubMed and reviewing MRI studies evaluating subjects with AD or MCI using WM volumetric methods, diffusion tensor imaging and assessment of WM hyperintensities. Studies have found that, compared with healthy controls, AD and MCI samples display WM volumetric reductions and diffusion tensor imaging findings suggestive of reduced WM integrity. These changes affect complex networks relevant to episodic memory and other cognitive processes, including fiber connections that directly link medial temporal structures and the corpus callosum. Abnormalities in cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical WM interconnections are associated with an increased risk of progression from MCI to dementia. It can be concluded that WM abnormalities are detectable in early stages of AD and MCI. Degeneration of WM networks causes disconnection among neural cells and the degree of such changes is related to cognitive decline. © 2013 2013 Expert Reviews Ltd.

Involvement of the insular cortex in the consolidation and expression of contextual fear conditioning

The insular cortex (IC) has been reported to be involved in the modulation of memory and autonomic and defensive responses. However, there is conflicting evidence about the role of the IC in fear conditioning. To explore the IC involvement in both behavioral and autonomic responses induced by contextual fear conditioning, we evaluated the effects of the reversible inhibition of the IC neurotransmission through bilateral microinjections of the non-selective synapse blocker CoCl2 (1 mm) 10 min before or immediately after the conditioning session or 10 min before re-exposure to the aversive context. In the conditioning session, rats were exposed to a footshock chamber (context) and footshocks were used as the unconditioned stimulus. Forty-eight hours later, the animals were re-exposed to the aversive context for 10 min, but no shock was given. Behavioral (freezing) as well as cardiovascular (arterial pressure and heart rate increases) responses induced by re-exposure to the aversive context were analysed. It was observed that the local IC neurotransmission inhibition attenuated freezing and the mean arterial pressure and heart rate increase of the groups that received the CoCl2 either immediately after conditioning or 10 min before re-exposure to the aversive context, but not when the CoCl2 was injected before the conditioning session. These findings suggest the involvement of the IC in the consolidation and expression of contextual aversive memory. However, the IC does not seem to be essential for the acquisition of memory associated with aversive context. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A utilização de linguagem VRML na educação à distância em arte

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

Influência do exercício físico em memória e funções executivas de pessoas com doença de Parkinson

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avaliação intelectual de crianças contaminadas por chumbo: um estudo comparativo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Formação continuada do professor para uso dos recursos de informática com alunos com deficiências físicas

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Infância e memória em When We Were Orphans, de Kazuo Ishiguro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O efeito da voz do narrador nos contos Carried away e Monsieur les deux chapeaux, da escritora canadense Alice Munro

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Traços impressionistas nos contos de Menalton Braff

Pós-graduação em Estudos Literários - FCLAR

As peculiaridades na escrita pianística de Ronaldo Miranda: sugestões interpretativas e técnico-musicais

Pós-graduação em Música - IA

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2014: Challenges to sustainable growth in a new external context

Includes bibliography.