This article presents the implementation of ISO/IEC 29110 in a four-person IT startup company in Peru. After completing the implementation of the ISO/IEC 29110 project management and software implementation processes using an agile approach, the next step was to execute these processes in a project with an actual customer: software that facilitates communication between clients and legal consultants at the second-largest insurance companies in Peru. Managing the project and developing the software took about 900 hours. Using ISO/ IEC 29110 software engineering practices enabled the startup to plan and execute the project while expending only 18 percent of the total project effort on rework (i.e., wasted effort). In this article, the authors also describe the steps and the effort required by the VSE to be granted an ISO/IEC 29110 certificate of conformity. The startup became the first Peruvian VSE to obtain an ISO/IEC 29110 certification. The ISO/IEC 29110 certification facilitated access to new clients and larger projects.

The objective of a coating operation is to transfer a defect free liquid film onto a continuous substrate in order to meet the requirements of the final products. Mainly two concerns govern the process. The first concern is the economics of the process and the second concern is the quality of the coated film. The economics of the process are dictated by the speed of coating and the film thickness. Clearly, higher speeds mean better productivity hence less cost of operation and thinner films are desirable because less material is being used. Quality is governed by film uniformity and integrity, indicating that the film will perform as designed. Film defects such as streaks or tiny air bubbles are indication that the film properties are not uniform rendering it unacceptable to customers. One of the most versatile coating systems to achieve thin films at high speeds is reverse roll coating which has been used for a long time all over the world. At low speed, typically 1m/s, this coating operation is inherently stable and with small gaps of order 100 microns can ii lead to film thickness of order 30-50 microns. Much research, theoretical and experimental, has been devoted to this coating flow but only at low speeds and for large gaps (>100 microns). There are no comprehensive data how very thin films, 20 microns and less (particularly lower limits in the region of 5 microns) can be achieved at high speeds, of 2 or more metres per second. This study is concerned precisely with this aim, that of investigating the effect of large speeds and small roller gaps (rollers nearly touching or in elastohydrodynamic contact) to achieve the very thin films desired by modern applications (electronics, medical and others). In order to achieve this aim, a rig was designed and built to enable to understand the effect of various coating conditions and liquid properties on the metered film thickness and coating instability. To achieve thin films at high speeds, small roll gap and low viscosity are needed, however flow instabilities will develop under these conditions. To achieve stable coating window at high speeds high surface tension is needed. It was found that the roll gap and the viscosity have complicated effect on the coating window. In the case of low viscosity liquid (7mPa.s), small roll gaps are needed, whereas in the case of high viscosity liquid (more than 30mPa.s), large gaps are needed. It was found that Weber number is better describer for ribbing instability in rigid reverse roll coating unlike in rigid forward roll coating in which capillary number is the one. In addition the potential of reverse deformable roll coating (rolls in elastohydrodynamic contact) was investigated in order to achieve much thinner films at higher speeds. As a result of the investigation of reverse deformable roll coating, it was found that there is a possibility to get much thinner stable films at much higher speeds compared to reverse rigid roll coating. The liquid transfer from an applicator roller to a PET film was investigated in this study. It was found that air stagnation at downstream meniscus and air entrainment at upstream meniscus depend on the liquid properties such as viscosity and surface tension and coating conditions such as web tension and wrap angle of web. As a result, wet film instability also depends on liquid properties and coating conditions. It was found that air stagnation causes streaks on the wet film and air entrainment caused bubbles on the wet film. To get a stable wet film, it was found that suitable viscosity and high surface tension were needed.

In this thesis, the gate matrix layout problem in VLSI design is considered where the goal is to minimize the number of tracks required to layout a given circuit and a taxonomy of approaches to its solution is presented. An efficient hybrid heuristic is also proposed for this combinatorial optimization problem, which is based on the combination of probabilistic hill-climbing technique and greedy method. This heuristic is tested experimentally with respect to four existing algorithms. As test cases, five benchmark problems from the literature as well as randomly generated problem instances are considered. The experimental results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm, on the average, performs better than other heuristics in terms of the required computation time and/or the quality of solution. Due to the computation-intensive nature of the problem, an exact solution within reasonable time limits is impossible. So, it is difficult to judge the effectiveness of any heuristic in terms of the quality of solution (number of tracks required). A probabilistic model of the gate matrix layout problem that computes the expected number of tracks from the given input parameters, is useful to this respect. Such a probabilistic model is proposed in this thesis, and its performance is experimentally evaluated.

In the setting of Noetherian or Dedekind domains, we investigate the properties of very flat and contraadjusted modules. These are the modules from the respective classes in the cotorsion pair (VF, CA) generated by the set of all modules of the form R[s−1 ]. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of locally very flat modules and pursue the analogy of their relation to very flat modules and the relation between projective and flat Mittag-Leffler modules. It is shown that for Noetherian domains, the class of all very flat modules is covering, if and only if the class of all locally very flat modules is precovering, if and only if the spectrum of the ring is finite; for domains of cardinality less than 2ω , this is further equivalent to the class of all contraadjusted modules being enveloping.

Background. It is significant to constantly change and improve the software process to thrive in the software market with rapidly changing requirement and situation. However, very small entities(VSEs) have difficulties to adopt software process improvement that have played an important role in software market, because they usually have some unique characteristics, such as informal and fewer documents, tight budget, and less human resources. Therefore, we believe it is necessary to study factors that are crucial to successful conducting SPI, to help inexperienced VSEs with limited resource implement SPI with reasonable cost. Objectives. The overall aim of our research is to analyse critical success factors about successfully conduct software process improvement for Very Small Entities. The objectives are based on the aim as following: 1) Identifying the special characteristics of VSEs which related to conducting SPI, 2) Identifying the state-of-the-art critical success factors when VSEs conducting SPI both in literature and practice: verifying and prioritizing the factors, and 3) Investigating the strategies that VSEs can take in order to successfully implement SPI. Methods. In order to investigate the critical factors and barriers need to focus and avoid during the improvement, we implemented a systematic literature review as the first phase. Then a survey questionnaire as the second phase to validate the results gained from the systematic literature review through consulting industrial software engineers. Results. The final result includes 80 success factors which have been mentioned at least once in the primary studies, a few characteristics of VSEs and strategies for SPI in VSEs. Among the 80 factors, we chose 29 factors as CSFs that were mentioned more than three times, then selected the first 15 CSFs as survey questions material. Through the survey, we gathered the evaluation of all factors from two areas and some suggestion or opinion of SPI in VSEs, explained the 29 CSFs and two ranking tables about top factors from the SLR and the survey, discussed 14 CSFs from both ranking tables, then provided specific strategies for each of the common 8 factors. Conclusions. For helping VSEs that intend to conduct SPI with limited resources, we answered our research questions through SLR and Survey, found 29 state-of-the-art success factors of SPI in VSEs, ranked 15 of them and provided a description, discussion, and strategies. Selected and prioritised success factors would be supportive for VSEs to ration their budget. Furthermore, we hope we can inspire VSEs who are having trouble to implement SPI by providing strategies.

A longevidade é um processo inevitável, irreversível e de extrema importância para a civilização. A população de idosos de 80 anos ou mais tem aumentado, demandando atenção e compromisso por parte dos profissionais de saúde. Conhecer o processo de envelhecimento envolve o estudo de vários fatores, dentre eles, o estilo de vida que pode estar relacionado a maior longevidade desses idosos muito velhos. Portanto, o objetivo geral deste estudo foi avaliar o estilo de vida e sua associação com a longevidade de idosos muito velhos do município de Aracaju-SE. Metodologia: estudo descritivo-exploratório, transversal, com abordagem quantitativa. O cenário de estudo foi o município de Aracaju, uma das capitais do nordeste que apresentou crescimento acelerado do número de idosos nos últimos 40 anos. Os critérios de inclusão para a população foram: idosos cadastrados nas Unidades de Saúde da Família, de ambos os sexos, com 80 anos ou mais, que deveriam atingir o mínimo de 19 pontos no Mini-Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM). Foram realizadas entrevistas estruturadas por meio de três formulários: um com dados do MEEM; outro com dados socioeconômico e demográfico, de saúde, de nutrição e de longevidade e o terceiro com dados do Perfil do Estilo de Vida Individual (PEVI)-Pentáculo do Bem-Estar. Para a análise dos dados, foi aplicada a estatística descritiva. Para a análise da associação entre PEVI e perfil socioeconômico e demográfico, de saúde, de nutrição e de longevidade, bem como para o conhecimento da consistência interna do formulário PEVI, foram utilizados testes estatísticos. Resultados: Foram entrevistados 524 idosos muito velhos, a faixa etária variou de 80 a 108 anos, com prevalência de idosos entre 80 a 85 anos, predominância do sexo feminino, baixa escolaridade, mais da metade eram viúvos, aposentados, católicos, residentes em casa própria. Com relação ao PEVI Pentáculo do Bem-estar - a maioria obteve referência para um bem-estar positivo para os determinantes nutrição, comportamento preventivo, relacionamento sociale controle do stress. Somente o determinante atividade física apresentou predominância de índice negativo para o bem-estar. Houve associação estatisticamente significativa com a longevidade para as variáveis: idade, escolaridade, consumo diário de verduras e legumes, de feijão, de hortaliças, ingestão de água, de leite integral ou semi-desnatado, de suco natural, chá e de café, a condição de saúde e ter plano de saúde. Quanto aos fatores de longevidade que tiveram associação significativa temos: avós/bisavós que viveram mais de 80 anos, contato pessoal familiar e atividade social. Os resultados do PEVI apresentaram adequada consistência interna, com medidas psicométricas confiáveis para avaliar o estilo de vida de idosos nesta faixa etária. Conclusões: A aplicação do instrumento PEVI em uma faixa etáriaaté então pouco explorada mostrou a possibilidade de identificar e diagnosticar o perfil do estilo de vida dos idosos muito velhos, permitindo estabelecer uma associação entre os componentes do pentáculo com a longevidade. Dessa forma, os resultados proporcionaram o perfil do estilo de vida desses idosos que podem constituir uma base de informações para que os profissionais de saúde realizem intervenções de saúde, seja no cuidado, orientação e planejamento, buscando proporcionar um envelhecimento saudável e de qualidade. / Longevity is an unavoidable process, irreversible and of extreme importance to civilization. The population of over-80 elderly has increased, demanding attention and commitment of health professionals. Learning about the aging process involves the study of several factors, among them, lifestyle which can be related to greater longevity of these very aged elderly. Therefore, the general objective of this study was to evaluate lifestyle and its association to longevity or very old elderly of Aracaju-SE (Brazil). Methodology: descriptive-exploratory study, cross-sectional, quantitative approach. Study setting was the City of Aracaju, one of the capitals of Brazilian Northeast which showed a rapid growth in the number of elderly in the last 40 years. Inclusion criteria to population were: elderly registered in Family Health Unities, from both sexes, over-80, 19 or more points in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Structured interviews were performed by means of three forms: one with MMSE data; another with socioeconomic, demographic, health, nutrition and longevity data and a third one with Individual Lifestyle Profile data, Welfare Pentacle (PEVI). To data analysis, descriptive statistics was applied. To analysis of association between PEVI and socioeconomic, demographic, nutrition and longevity profile, as well as knowledge about internal consistence of the PEVI form, statistical tests were used. Results: 524 very old elderly were interviewed, their age group between 80 and 108 years-old, with 80-85 elderly prevalence, female predominance, low schooling, most of them widowers, retired, catholic, living in own home. On what concerns PEVI Welfare Pentacle most of them obtained reference of a positive welfare for the determiners of nutrition, preventive behavior, social relationship and stress controlling. Only determiner physical activity presented predominance of negative index to welfare. There was statistically significant association to longevity to the variable: age, schooling, daily consumption of vegetables, beans and greenery, water, whole or semi-skimmed milk, natural juice, tea and coffee intake, the healthy condition and having health insurance. On what concerns longevity factors which had significant association, we have: great-grandparents and grandparents which lived 80 years or more, personal family contact and social activity. PEVI results showed appropriate internal consistency, with reliable psychometric measures to assess elderly lifestyle in this age group. Final thoughts: PEVI instrument application to an age group until then underexplored showed the possibility of identifying and diagnosing very old elderly lifestyle, allowing the establishment of an association between the pentacle components and longevity. This way, results provided the lifestyle profile of these elderly which can constitute a basis of information for health professionals to perform health interventions in care, orientation or planning, targeting to provide a healthy and quality aging.

O envelhecimento é um fenômeno mundial, resultado da diminuição progressiva das taxas de fecundidade e mortalidade e do aumento da expectativa de vida. O grupo de idosos, no Brasil e em países em desenvolvimento, segundo a OMS, é constituído por pessoas a partir dos 60 anos. Dentre desse grupo, a população que mais rapidamente cresce são os denominados idosos em velhice avançada (80 anos e mais) cujas demandas específicas ainda são desconhecidas em nosso meio. O envelhecimento pode ser acompanhado por um declínio funcional progressivo que pode estar associado a quadros de dependência responsáveis por demandas assistenciais específicas. A dependência em si constitui o maior temor dos idosos. Assim, conhecer os fatores preditores do alcance das idades mais longevas com independência funcional torna-se primordial e constitui o objetivo desse estudo que é parte do Estudo SABE - Saúde Bem-estar e Envelhecimento na América Latina e Caribe. Esse estudo, realizado no ano 2000, foi coordenado pela Organização Pan-Americana de Saúde (OPAS) e desenvolvido simultaneamente em sete países da dessa região com o objetivo de traçar as condições de vida e saúde dos idosos aí residentes. No Brasil, foi desenvolvido na zona urbana do Município de São Paulo com uma amostra de 2.143 idosos representativa da população residente na região no período. Para o desenvolvimento desse estudo, foi utilizada a parcela dos idosos com 80 anos e mais que foi subdividida segundo seu estado funcional. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva e exploratória. Do total dos idosos em velhice avançada, 9,9% eram funcionalmente independentes nas atividades de vida diária, básicas e instrumentais. Desses 66,4% eram mulheres, 33,6% eram homens, 75% eram nascidos no Brasil, 25,6% eram analfabetos e 63,1% estudaram entre 1e 6 anos, 10,1% ainda trabalhavam. Quanto ao estado marital, 71,1% eram viúvos e 26,5 % eram casados; 53,6% viviam sozinhos e a maioria (68,6%) tiveram pais que faleceram com 80 anos ou mais. Com relação a renda 38% se enquadravam no primeiro quintil, no entanto, 44,1% referiram que a renda era suficiente. Quanto aos hábitos de vida, 43,2% praticavam atividade física, 41,6% praticavam atividades de lazer, 70,4% nunca beberam e 68,9% nunca fumaram. Em relação às condições de vida e saúde na infância, 47,7% referiram que saúde e 35,2% boas condições econômicas. Quanto ao estado de saúde atual, 63,5% referiram ter saúde excelente, 43,5% referiram a presença de HAS, 34,7% de DPOC e de 7,3% DM e 95,1% apresentavam capacidade cognitiva preservada. Quanto a assistência à saúde, 81,2% referiam ter procurado por assistência médica nos doze meses anteriores à entrevista sendo que 83,8% referiram uma ou duas consultas. Quanto a história laboral 50,2% trabalharam como empregados e 37,3% como autônomos. Entre as mulheres 50% referiram ter trabalhado porque gostavam e 85% dos homens porque necessitavam. 97,5% deles sentiram-se capacitados para realizar os testes de flexibilidade e mobilidade. Essa variáveis foram submetidas à analise multivariada através da Regressão Logística, utilizando-se um nível de significância (µ = 0,05). As variáveis foram agrupadas em blocos temáticos de interesse, sendo submetidas à analise univariada, mostrando-se significantes diabetes referida, companhia e atividade física. Essas variáveis foram agrupadas e submetidas à análise múltipla de forma a constituir o modelo do estudo. Os testes estatísticos mostraram que a presença da diabetes diminui por um fator de 0.14 vezes o odds para não ter dificuldades nas ABVDs e/ou AIVDS. Viver acompanhado diminui esse risco por um fator de 0.15. Não praticar atividade física diminui os odds para não ter dificuldade de 0.13 vezes. Apesar dos idosos conseguirem chegar na velhice avançada sem incapacidades, o estudo mostrou que poucos são fatores que possam influenciar neste processo. Pode ser porque estes fatores já tenham feito diferença entre os idosos mais “jovens", mas com a idade avançada, os “muito velhos" tendem a igualar estas diferenças / Aging is a world phenomenon and it is a result of the progressive decrease of the fecundity and mortality rates and of the increase of life expectation. The elderly group, in Brazil, is composed by people since 60 years. Inside this group, the population which grows very fast is called very old people (80 years and more) whose specific demand are yet unknown. Aging is normally associated with progressive functional decrease which creates attendance demands and a lot of dependent scene, the great fear of this population. So, to know the factors associated with functional independence become primordial and compose the aim of this study. In this context, predict factors are considered important for the elaboration of preventive acts that alter disability events, responsible for dependence. Aiming to clarify the health load that may come up from a population that has grown old too fast, the Pan-American Health Organization developed a multi central study called SABE, involving seven countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, it was developed at an urban area of Sao Paulo city in 2000 with a total final sample of 2.143 elderly people representing the population who live in this region in this period. The elderly with 80 years and more, were used to develop this study. This is a descriptive and exploratory research. Of the total of the elderly in advanced old age, 9,9% were functionally independents in the activities of daily living. Of these 66.4% were women, 33.6% were men, 75% were born in Brazil, 25.6% never went to school, 10.1% have already worked. Concerning the marital condition 71.1% were widow and 26.5 % were marriage; 53.6% were living alone and the most of them (68.6%) have had parents who died with 80 years or more. Concerning the income 38% were in the first quintile, meanwhile, 44.1% had reported that the income was sufficient. Concerning the life habits, 43.2% had practiced physical activity, 41.6% had practice leisure activities, 70.4% had never drunken and 68,9% had never smoked. In relation to life conditions in childhood 47.7% had reported that they had good health and 35.2% good economical conditions. Concerning the health condition current, 63.5% had reported to have excellent health, 43.5% had reported the presence of hypertension, 34.7% chronicle pulmonary disease and 7.3% diabetes. 95.1% had shown preserved cognitive ability. These variables were submitted to the multivariety analysis through Logistical Regression, using a significance level (µ = 0,05). The variables were gather in thematic blocks of interested, being submitted to the univariety analysis, showing itself meaning diabetes reported, fellowship and physical activity. Regarding to the predict factors for aging without disability, data was submitted to multivaried analysis through Logistic Regression, using a significance level of 5% (a=0.05). These variables were grouped and submitted to multiple analyses in order to constitute the model of the study. The statistical analysis have shown that the presence of diabetes decreases by a factor of 0.14 times the odds for do not have the difficulties in the ADL. To live with company decreases this risk by a factor of 0.15. The odds decrease if there is not the practice of physical activity. The study shows that factors are few and these can influence in this process. This can happen because these factors have already been difference among the “younger" elderly, but among the very old people, the “older" tends to equalize these differences

This dissertation studies two independent problems, one is about graph labeling and the other problem is related to connectivity condition in a simple graph. Graph labeling is a rapidly developing area of research in graph theory, having connections with a variety of application-oriented areas such as VLSI optimization, data structures and data representation. Furthermore, the connectivity conditions in a simple graphs may help us to study the new aspects of ad hoc networks, social networks and web graphs. In chapter 2, we study path systems, reduced path systems and how to construct a super edge-graceful tree with any number of edges using path systems. First, we give an algorithm to reduce a labeled path system to a smaller labeled path system of a different type. First, we investigate the cases (m, k) = (3; 5) and (m, k) = (4; 7), where m is the number of paths and 2k is the length of each path, and then we give a generalization for any k, m = 3 and m = 4. We also describe a procedure to construct a super-edge-graceful tree with any number of edges. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

by Teresa W.M. Ng. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Bibliography: leaves 97-100.

by Sau-yuen Wong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-82). / Acknowledgement --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / List of Tables --- p.ii / List of Figures --- p.iv / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Review of Previous Work --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Optimization of Delay and Layout Design --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- Simulated Annealing --- p.8 / Chapter 3 --- Definition of Circuit Model --- p.12 / Chapter 4 --- Evaluation of Delay --- p.16 / Chapter 4.1 --- RC-tree and Elmore Delay --- p.16 / Chapter 4.2 --- Exponential Decayed Polynomial Function --- p.17 / Chapter 4.3 --- Two-pole Approximation --- p.18 / Chapter 4.4 --- AWE and Adopted Delay Model --- p.19 / Chapter 5 --- Delay Minimization by Simulated Annealing --- p.28 / Chapter 5.1 --- Cost Function --- p.28 / Chapter 5.2 --- Neighbor Moves --- p.30 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Logical models --- p.31 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Discretization of Solution Space --- p.32 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Valid Configurations --- p.35 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Valid Moves --- p.39 / Chapter 5.2.5 --- Modification to the Newly Generated Graph --- p.41 / Chapter 5.2.6 --- Access to Neighbor configuration --- p.43 / Chapter 5.2.7 --- Reduction of Solution Space --- p.45 / Chapter 5.2.8 --- Correctness of the Algorithm --- p.48 / Chapter 5.2.9 --- Completeness of the Algorithm --- p.49 / Chapter 6 --- Experimental result --- p.56 / Chapter 6.1 --- Optimization of Overall Performance --- p.58 / Chapter 6.2 --- Optimization on Individual Delay --- p.70 / Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.74 / A --- p.76 / Bibliography