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Health condition monitoring, commonly referred as Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) for fleets or vehicles, studies the current and future health state of a system. Health monitoring techniques based on data driven approaches have proven successful in several areas and are easily scalable; however they do not rely on the understating of the physics of failure; whereas Physics-based Model (PbM) approaches require expert knowledge of the failure modes and are based on the understanding of the component behaviour and degradation mechanisms. The development of IVHM is particularly challenging for legacy aircraft due to the restrictive regulations of the aerospace industry. This thesis proposes a novel PbM technique to detect metal-metal contact in hydrodynamic bearings. The planetary transmission of an aircraft’s Integrated Drive Generator (IDG) is used as a case study. Research on the detection of metal-metal contact in hydrodynamic bearings has focused on data driven approaches using vibration or acoustic emissions rather than on PbMs. The proposed technique estimates metal-metal contact by modelling the physical phenomena involved in the failure mechanism and only the speed, load and temperature are required as inputs, all of them available in the IDG and not requiring any additional sensors. The study of metal-metal in hydrodynamic bearings in the field of tribology has focused on mixed lubrication models of the whole bearing, or computational models accounting for local effect under the hydrodynamic lubrication region. In addition to the IVHM technique, this thesis contributes to the field of tribology by proposing a computational mixed lubrication model capable of studying metal-metal contact locally along the lubricated surface of the bearing. Experimental results of a plain journal bearing have been used to validate the PbM and a replica of the transmission of the IDG has been tested to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed technique at detecting metal-metal contact.

Coordination of gene expression within the cell requires the integrated actions of various multi-protein, gene regulatory complexes. The Mediator and BRG1 Associate Factor (BAF) complexes are large, dynamic regulatory cofactors (COF) that are made up of multiple different submodules, and play key roles in regulating gene expression. Gene-specific regulation requires that transcription factors (TFs) recruit these COF complexes to gene promoters. How separate subdomains in each complex interact with distinct sets of TFs in each cell remains an important question. In this study, to address this question, we sought to apply the nuclear extract protein-binding microarray (nextPBM) technology being developed in our lab to study interactions between TFs and subunits of the Mediator and BAF complexes. To facilitate this, we cloned, expressed and purified subdomains of proteins from the Mediator and BAF complexes. We then used the nextPBM technology to study the interactions of our subdomains with TFs in human macrophages. We identified several new interactions with TFs, and demonstrate the utility of this approach to student TF-COF interaction.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-17T14:53:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Christian Diniz Carvalho.pdf: 4274658 bytes, checksum: 421cd57af82e016c0e4f1b6217ddac8d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-12 / The Intelligent Electronic Auction System (SIPE) is an e-commerce system based on intelligent agent technology, which focuses Business to negotiations of the type of government. It arises in order to be a future alternative to the current procurement system of goods and services of Brazilian Public Administration - ComprasNet. Its main advantage is the semi automated of the negotiation process and automate the search for trading partners. And to demonstrate the feasibility of the methodology, we will apply the SIPE Business Process Management in making the business model of Electronic Auction held in traditional ComprasNet and also in the bidding process heldin the system proposed here. / O Sistema Inteligente de Pregão Eletrônico (SIPE) é um sistema de Comércio Eletrônico baseado na tecnologia de Agentes Inteligentes, cujo foco é negociações do tipo Business to Government. Surge com o propósito de ser uma alternativa futura ao atual sistema de aquisições de bens e serviços da Administração Pública brasileira ComprasNet. Sua principal vantagem é a semiautomatização do processo de negociação e a automatização da busca por parceiros comerciais. E para demonstrar a viabilidade do SIPE aplicaremos a metodologia Bisiness Process Management na confecção da modelagem de negócio do Pregão Eletrônico tradicional realizado no ComprasNet e, também, no procedimento licitatório realizado no sistema aqui proposto.

In light of drastically escalating costs for today’s medications, pharmacy benefit managers are seeking a constant balance of effectiveness and cost control. Step Therapy helps to address these concerns with a try medication “A” before medication “B” logic. Like all medical interventions, the possibility of unintended consequences exists. The purpose of this study was to determine if non-adherence results from application of Step Therapy for selected medication classes (antihyperlipidemics (specifically the HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors), angiotensin receptor blockers, uro-selective alpha-blockers, and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors) in the Department of Defense. Using a retrospective database analysis, this study examined the primary adherence rate of subjects after they have been denied coverage due to Step Therapy intervention. Additionally, this study examined the association of demographic and service-related factors with the likelihood that a patient will be non-adherent after encountering the intervention. Finally, the study measured the time to adherence after intervention for those who were persistent after a Step Therapy claim rejection. STATA version 10.0 was used to conduct logistic regression analyses to meet the study objectives. After examination of 279,508 claims for 27,202 subjects, the estimated primary non-adherence rate following the Step Therapy intervention for all medication classes combined was 15.1%. Additionally, there was inter-class variability in this rate ranging between 13.1% and 19.5%. A statistical and practical difference was also noted in non-adherence rates between subjects who received care at the retail point of service versus those who received care at the mail order point of service. Subjects who received care through retail were nearly twice as likely to be non-adherent as those who received care in the mail order segment. For those subjects who were persistent with therapy, the median time-to-fill was estimated at 7 days. The occurrence of non-adherence following a Step Therapy intervention was clearly demonstrated through this study. Although this study provides good framework for designing interventions after claim rejection, further research would help to determine the health impact of primary non-adherence as well as the economic consequences of the intervention. / text

Background:  The PDZ domain is a peptide sequence of 80-90 amino acids and can be found in e.g. bacteria, animals and plants. These domains are commonly part of the cytoplasmic and membrane adapter proteins and its function are important in protein-protein interactions. The NS1 proteins of influenza A viruses play an important role in inhibiting the IFN-β production in many ways. In the C-terminus of the NS1 protein, a peptide sequence of four amino acids had been demonstrated to bind to the PDZ domain termed as PDZ binding motif (PBM). Objective:  The aim of this study is to determine whether the PBM sequence of the NS1 protein of influenza A virus plays a key roll in the expression of interferon-β. Methods:  The open reading frame of the NS1 protein was amplified and cloned into expressing vector and transfected into A549 cells along with a reporter plasmid containing ISRE promoter, driving expression of firefly luciferase. Dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to measure luciferase activity which represented expression of IFN-β. The assay was performed only once and unfortunately the result can not be trusted since the negative control showed positive value. Therefore, to understand the interaction between the PBM sequence of NS1 proteins and the production of IFN-β, further experiments are needed.

Les domaines PDZ reconnaissent des motifs C-terminaux (PBMs), à l'origine de nombreuses interactions qui sont souvent impliquées dans la régulation de la polarité cellulaire. Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié divers aspects de la spécificité des interactions PDZ-PBM. Nous avons mis en évidence les faibles performances de deux prédicteurs d'interaction entre PDZs et PBMs, considérés sous leurs formes les plus courtes. Ensuite, nous avons développé des protocoles basés sur les méthodes BIAcore et HoldUp pour valider expérimentalement et à grande échelle des prédicteurs d'interaction PDZ-PBM et pour étudier l'influence du contexte de séquence (comme les séquences flanquantes ou les domaines voisins) des PDZs et des PBMs sur l’affinité et la spécificité de leurs interactions. Nous avons identifié des interactions potentielles impliquant les protéines humaines à PDZ MAGI1 et SCRIB soulignant leur implication dans les réseaux de signalisation des protéines G. Une revue de la littérature, combinée avec nos propres résultats, a révélé des mécanismes par lesquels le contexte de séquence influence les affinités et spécificités des interactions impliquant les PDZs. Nous avons discuté ces mécanismes dans une revue publiée. Les connaissances obtenues à partir de cette thèse pourront influencer positivement de futures études sur les interactions PDZ-PBM, en particulier, et sur les interactions domaine-motif linéaire en général. / PDZ domains recognize C-terminal PDZ-binding motifs (PBMs) thereby mediating protein interactions that are often involved in cell polarity regulation. In this thesis, we studied under various aspects the specificity of PDZ-PBM interactions. We identified weak performances of two published predictors for interactions between core PDZ domains and short PBMs. Next, we developed protocols based on BIAcore and HoldUp to experimentally validate on a large scale predicted PDZ-PBM interactions and to study the influence of sequence context (e.g. flanking regions or neighbouring domains) of PDZs and PBMs on their interaction affinity and specificity. We identified new potential interactions involving the human PDZ proteins MAGI1 and SCRIB underpinning their implication in G protein signalling pathways. A literature survey combined with our own findings reveal structural mechanisms, by which sequence context influences PDZ interaction affinities and specificities. We have discussed those in a published review. Insights gained from this thesis may positively impact future studies on PDZ-PBM interactions in particular and on domain-linear motif interactions in general.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Centro de Estudos Avançados Multidisciplinares, 2016. / Submitted by Albânia Cézar de Melo (albania@bce.unb.br) on 2016-04-08T12:46:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_CyntiaSandesOliveira.pdf: 1739195 bytes, checksum: 29f69c4c6707d7704dd65f93b3b264d0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana(raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2016-05-04T19:41:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_CyntiaSandesOliveira.pdf: 1739195 bytes, checksum: 29f69c4c6707d7704dd65f93b3b264d0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-04T19:41:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_CyntiaSandesOliveira.pdf: 1739195 bytes, checksum: 29f69c4c6707d7704dd65f93b3b264d0 (MD5) / O presente texto buscou identificar o que se entende por desenvolvimento na formulação estratégica brasileira de ciência, tecnologia e inovação. Para o alcance desse objetivo, recorreuse à construção de quadro teórico-analítico das correntes paradigmáticas vigentes, bem como das teorias a elas associadas e identificadas no objeto empírico escolhido. Evidenciou-se que as diferentes abordagens sobre conceito de desenvolvimento estão relacionadas a diferentes perspectivas epistemólogicas, teóricas e metodológicas de análise. Essas diferenças têm implicações não só na seleção dos critérios de validade utilizados na sua concepção, como também na concepção e dimensão do desenvolvimento utilizadas como justificativa da escolha de políticas públicas. Portanto, buscou-se identificar a heterogeneidade na utilização do conceito de desenvolvimento no recorte empírico escolhido, a Estratégia Nacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Informação (ENCTI) e o Plano Brasil Maior (PBM), por meio de análise de conteúdo qualitativa de cunho reflexivo. Dessa maneira, partiu-se da análise de diferentes correntes paradigmáticas acerca do conceito de desenvolvimento e sua apropriação nos documento selecionados. A partir da análise das enunciações, proferiu-se uma análise do implícito, do não dito no texto das políticas, o que constitui o principal achado de pesquisa do presente estudo. Verificou-se, por exemplo, que, em grande medida, as abordagens estão embebidas de uma perspectiva liberal característica das transformações sociais do pós-revolução industrial, demonstrando divergências quanto ao papel do Estado na condução do esforço para o desenvolvimento da nação. Conclui-se que a conceituação de desenvolvimento é fundamentalmente uma disputa a respeito da apropriação de modelos de futuro, sendo estratégica ao contexto da implementação dos instrumentos de ação pública, além de indicativa da sua não neutralidade, refletindo os interesses que permeiam a decisão governamental e projetos de país em disputa. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / This paper sought to identify what is meant by development in the Brazilian governmental strategy for science, technology and innovation. To achieve this goal, a theoretical and analytical framework of current prevailing paradigms and theories has been used. These theories were chosen upon their identification in the chosen empirical object. It is argued that different approaches to the concept of development are related to different epistemological perspectives, theoretical and methodological analysis. These differences have implications not only in the selection of validity criteria, but also in the development dimension used as justification for the choice of public policy. Therefore, it has been sought to identify the heterogeneity in the use of the concept of development in the chosen empirical cut, the National Strategy for Science, Technology and Information (ENCTI) and the Plano Brasil Maior (PBM) through qualitative content analysis of reflective imprint . Thus, different streams of paradigms about the development concept were studied regarding its appropriation in the selected documents. From the analysis of utterances, it was possible to indicate the implied elements of the text, which has been regarded as the main finding of this research study. For instance, to a large extent, the approaches are embedded in a liberal perspective characteristic of the social transformations of the post-industrial revolution, demonstrating differences in the state's role in the effort to conduct the nation's development. It is concluded that the development concept is fundamentally a dispute over the ownership of future models, being strategic to the context of implementation of public action instruments, as well as indicative of their non-neutrality, reflecting the interests that permeate the government's decision and visions for the future of the country in dispute.

Submitted by Neusa Fagundes (neusa.fagundes@unioeste.br) on 2017-09-11T19:06:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre_Amaral2017.pdf: 1566264 bytes, checksum: cafbb4e2d1c918883a79b06ca2cd9589 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-11T19:06:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre_Amaral2017.pdf: 1566264 bytes, checksum: cafbb4e2d1c918883a79b06ca2cd9589 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-21 / Fundação Araucária de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Estado do Paraná (FA) / Brazilian swine production presents industrial characteristics, with confined animals and stratified units, i.e., there are large production units specialized in specific stages of production. Generally, these units concentrate a large number of animals and generate effluents that must be correctly managed to avoid environmental impact. This study was divided in two stages, in which the first, aimed to determine the influence of simplified and cheap solid-liquid separation strategies and different manure from each swine production phases on biogas and methane yield. Samples were collected in two gestating sows house (GSH-a and GSH-b), two farrowing sows house (FSH-a and FSH-b), a nursery house (NH) and a finishing house (FH). Biochemical methane production (BMP) tests were performed according to international standard procedure (VDI 4630). The settled sludge fraction represents 20 to 30% of raw manure volume, producing 40 to 60% of the total methane yield. The methane potential of settled sludge fraction was about 2 times higher than the supernatant fraction. There are differences on biogas yield between the raw manure of different swine production phases (GSH-a 326.4 and GSH-b 577.1; FSH-a 860.1 and FSH-b 479.2; NH -970.2; FH 474.5 mLNbiogas.gVS-1). The differences are relative to production phase (feed type, feeding techniques, etc.), but also to the management of the effluent inside the facilities (water management). In the second stage, the influence of anaerobic digestion key parameters on methane recovery capacity were studied, as well as archaea community in a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) fed with swine manure were investigated. Batch (according VDI, 4630) and continuous (CSTR reactor) experiments were performed in order to define the highest methane productiveness and lower methane emission (a greenhouse gas). Organic loading rate (OLR), hydraulic retention time (HRT), free ammonia concentration and archaea community were investigated on operational parameters for process control. It was found that OLR of 1.06 kgVS.m-3.d-1 and HRT of around 20 days contribute to better methane recovery, which can result in higher biogas plant productivity and reduction of methane emissions. Results showed that there is no evidence of global anaerobic digestion inhibition due to the free ammonia concentration, but a probable influence on the main methanogenic metabolic pathway (hydrogenotrophic). Additionally, a correlation between the process stability and the increase in the number of methanogenic archaea was observed. These results can be used for biogas plants to achieve higher methane productiveness and lower methane emission. / A produção de suínos no Brasil ocorre em escala industrial, com animais confinados e de forma estratificada, ou seja, têm-se grandes unidades produtoras, especializadas em etapas específicas da produção. Geralmente, essas unidades concentram grandes quantidades de animais em pequenas áreas territoriais e geram efluentes ricos em matéria orgânica, que precisam ser corretamente manejados. Este estudo foi divido em duas etapas, sendo que na primeira objetivou-se determinar a influência da estratificação da produção de suínos na capacidade de produção de biogás, estudando também estratégias de separação de sólidos que contribuam para maior rendimento de metano. Para isso, foram coletadas amostras de duas unidades de gestações (GS-a e GS-b), duas unidades de maternidade (MS-a e MS-b), uma unidade de crechário (CS) e uma unidade de terminação (TS). Os testes de potencial bioquímico de biogás (PBB) foram realizados de acordo com procedimento padrão (VDI 4630). A fração de lodo sedimentado correspondeu de 20 a 30% do volume do efluente bruto, produzindo de 40 a 60% do volume de metano. A produtividade de metano da fração de lodo sedimentado é aproximadamente duas vezes maior do que a fração sobrenadante. Verificaram-se diferenças no rendimento de biogás entre o dejeto bruto proveniente das diferentes etapas da criação de suínos (GS-a: 326,4 e GS-b: 577,1; MS-a: 860,1 e MS-b: 479,2; CS -970,2; TS 474,5 mLN biogás.gSV-1). As diferenças apresentadas são relativas às diferentes estratégias adotadas nas diferentes fases de crescimento do suíno (nutrição, tecnificação da produção, etc.), mas também relacionadas ao manejo dos efluentes dentro das instalações. Na segunda etapa, buscou-se estudar a digestão anaeróbia em reator CSTR (do inglês “Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor”) com o objetivo de verificar a influência de parâmetros do processo na capacidade de recuperação de metano e suas influências nas arqueas metanogênicas. Foram realizados experimentos em batelada (utilizando metodologia padronizada – VDI, 4630) e contínuos (em reator CSTR), com objetivo de atingir a maior produtividade e menor emissão de metano (gás de efeito estufa). Foram estudados parâmetros operacionais, como carga orgânica volumétrica (COV), tempo de retenção hidráulica (TRH), amônia livre e comunidade de arqueas. Observou-se que a COV de 1,06 kgSV.m-3.d-1 e TRH de aproximadamente 20 dias contribuem para melhor recuperação de metano, o que resulta em um ganho de produtividade em uma planta de biogás e redução nas emissões de metano. Os resultados de concentrações de amônia livre não apontam evidências de inibição ao processo de digestão anaeróbia, mas provavelmente influenciam a rota metanogênica preferencial (rota hidrogenotrófica). Adicionalmente, observou-se uma correlação entre a estabilidade do processo e o aumento na concentração de arqueas metanogênicas. Os resultados podem servir de subsídio para plantas de biogás em alcançar maior produtividade e menor emissão de metano. Palavras-chave:

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