Search

Passive optical networks (PONs) are an important and interesting technology for broadband access as a result of the growing demand for bandwidth over the past 10 years. An arduous and complex step in the design of such networks involves determining the placement of equipment, optical fiber cables and several other parameters relevant to the proper functioning of the network. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary strategy to optimize the infrastructure design of PONs by using genetic algorithm technique. This meta-heuristic is capable of elaborating fast, automatic and efficient solutions for the design and planning of PONs. Our proposal has been developed using real maps, aiming to minimize deployment costs and time spent to carry out PON projects, achieving pre-defined quality criteria. We considered, in our simulations, two scenarios (non-dense and dense), four possible topologies and two regions of interest. The non-dense consists of a scenario in which subscribers are distributed in a dispersed manner in the region of interest. The dense has a considerably higher number of subscribers distributed in a very close way to each other. Based on the obtained results, the potential of our proposal is quite clear, as well as its relevance from a technical, economic, and commercial point of view.

A catequese contemporânea tem apresentado sinais de falência. Os resultados dos esforços catequéticos têm sido poucos ou quase nulos: não conseguimos contagiar os catequizandos com a proposta do evangelho a ponto de fazê-los prosseguir no discipulado do Mestre de Nazaré. Diante de tal fenômeno, perguntamo-nos: o evangelho de Jesus Cristo perdeu sua força e, por isso, não possui mais significância para a vida dos contemporâneos ou é nossa catequese que não consegue propiciar a experiência do Ressuscitado, capaz de transformar a vida dos catequizandos? Nós cremos que a pessoa de Jesus Cristo e seu evangelho não tiveram sua significância reduzida e também sabemos que o tempo atual não é menos apto à fé cristã que outros (pois toda sociedade e todo tempo são capazes de Deus). O que nos parece mais provável é a inadequação do paradigma catequético em relação à sociedade secularizada que se implantou, especialmente da pedagogia catequética. A pedagogia ensino-aprendizagem, pilar do ato catequético desde tempos na Igreja, é extremamente escolarizada, preocupada com a transmissão da doutrina ou com a construção do conhecimento. Ela não inicia no mistério pascal, mistério central da fé cristã. É preciso substituir a pedagogia ensino/aprendizagem, cujos recursos para a comunicação da experiência cristã de Deus se mostram esgotados, pela pedagogia iniciática, capaz de proporcionar a experiência com o Ressuscitado. É preciso des-escolarizar a catequese, transformando as “aulas de catecismo” ou “aulas de catequese” em momentos de encontro pessoal com Deus, plenamente revelado em Jesus Cristo, pela ação do Espírito.

Sob a hipótese de aumento da eficiência da adubação nitrogenada quanto ao uso de diferentes fontes e doses de nitrogênio, aliado à maior produtividade e qualidade da forragem produzida, este trabalho foi conduzido com objetivo de avaliar a composição morfológica, as características estruturais e a composição química da forragem do Panicum maximum cv. Massai, cultivado sob diferentes fontes de ureia (comum e revestida por Policote®) e doses de nitrogênio (200, 400 e 600 kg ha-1 ano-1), durante as estações de outono, inverno e primavera de 2014, verão e outono de 2015. O experimento foi conduzido em Seropédica, RJ, sob delineamento de blocos completos casualizados em arranjo fatorial (3x2) + 1, com quatro repetições. O incremento de doses de nitrogênio promoveu maiores porcentagens de massa seca de lâminas foliares e menores porcentagens de material morto na massa de forragem, além de maiores densidades populacionais de perfilhos e taxa de acúmulo de forragem do capim Massai, durante as estações. O uso da ureia revestida promoveu maiores teores de proteína bruta na forragem que a ureia comum em todas as estações. A intensificação da adubação nitrogenada reduz a eficiência do uso de nitrogênio, mas beneficia as características estruturais, o acúmulo de forragem, e a composição química do capim Massai. O uso de ureia revestida promove maior eficiência da utilização do nitrogênio durante todas as estações do ano.

O artigo apresenta um estudo multitemporal das alterações na paisagem na região do distrito de Luiz Alves, município de São Miguel do Araguaia, noroeste do estado de Goiás, a partir da década de 1960 até 2007. O estudo foi motivado pela indicação da área citada como relevante para conservação da natureza pelo WWF-Brasil e Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Para que os objetivos fossem alcançados utilizaram-se métodos indiretos, imagens de sensores orbitais (LANDSAT e CBERS2) e imagens de sensores suborbitais (fotografias aéreas do USAF/USA). As imagens foram analisadas em ambiente de SIG, a partir de técnicas de Geoprocessamento. Entende-se que o dado de satélite não é paisagem, mas uma possibilidade de sua representação. Desta maneira foi necessário integrar os dados orbitais e suborbitais à análise empírica e de dados bibliográficos. Isto permitiu o reconhecimento das características físicas da área em questão e todo o processo migratório para a região, que resultou na alteração danosa dos elementos da paisagem. Os resultados mostraram que a pecuária e a agricultura irrigada são as principais atividades econômicas que modificam a paisagem da área de estudo. Revelou que o Estado é o principal agenciador das atividades econômicas e que todas as alterações comprometem especialmente a faixa de zona úmida, habitat preferencial de inúmeras espécies da fauna. Muitas destas espécies já se encontram em vias de extinção, destaque feito para o maior peixe de escamas de água doce do mundo, o Pirarucu, que até a década de 1980 era facilmente encontrado nesta paisagem.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of regional and distant metastases from cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in dogs (n = 11) and cats (n = 9) in a retrospective case series over 36 years (1985-2020), as well as to characterize its macroscopic aspects (location and size), degree of differentiation (well, moderately and poorly differentiated [WD, MD and PD, respectively]) and the rate of cell proliferation, by counting the AgNORs. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to identify patterns of tumour migration and invasion (islands, ribbons, cords, small aggregates, individual cells [fusiform and amoeboid]) and to evaluate the intensity of desmoplasia and the amount of myofibroblasts. The prevalence of metastatic SCCs was 4.39% (21/478), being 3.8% in dog (12/309) and 5.3% in cat (9/169). Metastases affected lymph nodes in all dogs and 66% (6/9) of cats, and less frequently distant organs. Primary tumours predominantly affected the abdominal skin in dogs and the nasal planum in cats. Among the 20 cases, 52% were MDs, 34% were WDs, and 14% were PDs. Histological lesions suggestive of exposure to chronic solar radiation were present in 57% (8/14). The main patterns of tumour migration and invasion were islands for WD SCCs and individual cells for PD SCCs. MD SCCs had a mix of patterns. In cats, individual spindle cells were restricted to PDs. A marked desmoplastic reaction was more associated with PD SCCs and often with MDs. This study highlights that the prevalence of SCC metastases in dogs and cats is predominantly regional. The IHC was essential in the identification of individual fusiform keratinocytes, whose presence in surgical margins may represent a greater risk of recurrence. Although the presence of myofibroblasts was observed in all infiltrative and metastatic tumours, further studies evaluating these cells may be important to better understand their role in the tumour microenvironment of cutaneous SCCs with metastasis in dogs and cats., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: The correct positioning of the implant in revision total hip arthroplasty (rTHA) is critical to obtaining substantial functional outcomes, and to avoiding complications. Current literature supports three-dimensional (3D)-printed models as potentially useful tools for preplanning, as well as the "do it yourself (DIY)" methodology to reduce both the time and costs of this procedure. However, no study has determined the efficacy of both methods combined in a cohort of patients with severe acetabular defects. In the lack of bibliography, we performed rTHA after preoperative planning by DIY-3D-printed models to evaluate its influence in: 1) the surgical time, 2) the functional scores, 3) the intra and postoperative complications, and 4) the reconstruction of the center of rotation (COR) of the hip., Hypothesis: Preoperative planning through 3D-DIY printed models will both improve the accuracy of the implant positioning, and the surgical time, leading the latter to improved functional scores and reduced complications., Materials & Methods: A comparative study of 21 patients with Paprosky IIB to IIIB acetabular defects who underwent rTHA after 3D-printed model preoperative planning by the DIY method between 2016 and 2019 was conducted. A historical cohort of 24 patients served as the comparator. Surgical time, reconstruction of the COR, functional scores, and complications were analyzed., Results: The mean follow-up was 32.4 (range, 12 to 60) months. All the patients showed significant improvement of the Harris hip score (HHS) after the operation (3D group: 26.58±10.73; control group 22.47±15.43 (p=0.00)). In the 3D-printed model preoperative planning group the mean operation time and the intraoperative complications were significantly lower (156.15±43.03min vs 187.5±54.38min (p=0.045); and 19% vs 62.5% (p=0.003), respectively), and the HHS and patient satisfaction score (PSS) were significantly greater (83.74±8.49 vs 75.59±11.46 (p=0.019); and 8.17±0.88 vs 7.36±1.17 (p=0.023), respectively). No differences were found in the postoperative complications, nor in the restoration of the COR as determined from the acetabular index, verticalization or horizontalization, although the acetabular index was closer to the intended one in the 3D-printed model planning group (46.67°±7.63 vs 49.22±8.1 (p=0.284))., Conclusion: Preoperative planning of severe acetabular defects through 3D-printed models shortens the surgical time, leading to a decrease in complications and thus to better functional outcomes and greater patient satisfaction. Moreover, the DIY philosophy could decrease both the time and costs of traditional 3D planning., Level of Evidence: III, retrospective case matched study., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCC) is considered a genetic cardiomyopathy with unknown pathophysiological mechanisms. We propose to evaluate echocardiographic predictors for rigid body rotation (RBR) in NCC using a machine learning (ML) based model., Methods and Results: Forty-nine outpatients with NCC diagnosis by echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (21 men, 42.8±14.8 years) were included. A comprehensive echocardiogram was performed. The layer-specific strain was analyzed from the apical two-, three, four-chamber views, short axis, and focused right ventricle views using 2D echocardiography (2DE) software. RBR was present in 44.9% of patients, and this group presented increased LV mass indexed (118±43.4 vs. 94.1±27.1g/m2, P = 0.034), LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (P< 0.001), E/e' (12.2±8.68 vs. 7.69±3.13, P = 0.034), and decreased LV ejection fraction (40.7±8.71 vs. 58.9±8.76%, P < 0.001) when compared to patients without RBR. Also, patients with RBR presented a significant decrease of global longitudinal, radial, and circumferential strain. When ML model based on a random forest algorithm and a neural network model was applied, it found that twist, NC/C, torsion, LV ejection fraction, and diastolic dysfunction are the strongest predictors to RBR with accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve of 0.93, 0.99, 0.80, and 0.88, respectively., Conclusion: In this study, a random forest algorithm was capable of selecting the best echocardiographic predictors to RBR pattern in NCC patients, which was consistent with worse systolic, diastolic, and myocardium deformation indices. Prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the role of this tool for NCC risk stratification., Competing Interests: The authors received no specific funding for this work and the authors have declared that no competing interests exist.