Este artigo traça um panorama da trajetória do egresso do Projeto Introcomp, que consiste de um curso de programação em Python para estudantes do ensino médio, e analisa se essa trajetória está alinhada aos objetivos do projeto, que são: (i) oferecer ao estudante da rede pública de ensino a oportunidade de aprender a programar; (ii) atrair este estudante para a carreira em tecnologia; e (iii) oferecer ao estudante uma base em programação, permitindo que ele tenha mais chances de sucesso ao enfrentar os desafios do curso superior. Os resultados observados sugerem que o Introcomp desempenha um papel importante na trajetória de seus egressos, tanto no processo seletivo quanto no seu desempenho nos cursos iniciais de programação do Ensino Superior.

Thrombotic risk assessment in antiphospholipid positive (aPL +) subjects is a major challenge, and the study of in vitro thrombin generation (thrombin generation assays (TGA)) could provide useful information. Activated protein C (APC) sensitivity is involved in thrombotic events in antiphospholipid syndrome patients. We summarized methods used to assess APC sensitivity with TGA and evaluated the prognostic role of APC resistance through literature search. APC resistance induced by aPL is a complex pathway. Several cross-sectional studies assessed APC sensitivity to understand thrombotic event mechanisms in aPL + subjects. Only one prospective cohort had investigated the prognostic impact of APC resistance in aPL + subjects, with a positive and significant correlation between APC sensitivity and the risk of thrombosis during the follow up (hazard ratio, 6.07 [95

Asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS) can cause cognitive dysfunction, related to cerebral hypoperfusion and microemboli. These mechanisms could be treated by carotid revascularization, but the impact of carotid angioplasty stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) on cognitive functions remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to realize a report on the actual state of results about asymptomatic carotid stenosis revascularization and cognitive function. We performed a systematic literature review to analyze all studies assessing the impact of asymptomatic carotid stenosis revascularizations on cognitive functions. We reviewed all publications published in Medline database and Cochrane between January 2010 and January 2020 including subjects with a cognitive evaluation and receiving carotid revascularization for asymptomatic stenosis. We identified 567 records for review, and finally we included in the systematic review 20 studies about ACS revascularization and cognitive functions. Only observational studies analyzed the impact of CEA and CAS on cognitive functions. Thus, too heterogeneous data associated to the lack of randomized controlled trials with an evaluation of optimal medical treatment did not enable to affirm the interest of the revascularization management of ACS in cognitive domain. There was a lack of standardization and finally studies were too heterogeneous to conclude on the impact of carotid revascularization on cognitive functions. There is an urgent need to harmonize research in this domain in order to prevent and treat cognitive dysfunction related to ACS, especially in our society with an aging population.

Este artigo compartilha a trajetória do projeto de extensão universitária Introcomp ao longo dos seus quase 10 anos e apresenta a estratégia que passou a ser adotada na edição do ano de 2020, pela primeira vez, integralmente a distância. Nesse sentido, fazemos uma reflexão sobre a nossa experiência na aplicação de diferentes abordagens para facilitar a aprendizagem de programação para o nosso público-alvo no decorrer desses anos – passando da linguagem C para Python, de aulas tradicionais a aulas totalmente interativas. Com isso, mostramos como as lições aprendidas têm nos ajudado a repensar o uso de metodologias, tecnologias e plataformas digitais no ensino de programação para jovens do ensino médio em tempos de pandemia. A contribuição deste trabalho traz um avanço para o estado da arte e tem o potencial de ampliar o entendimento da comunidade sobre intervenções de educação em computação direcionadas principalmente ao público jovem.

COVID-19 patients have a procoagulant state with a high prevalence of thrombotic events. The hypothesis of an involvement of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) has been suggested by several reports. Here, we reviewed 48 studies investigating aPL in COVID-19 patients. Prevalence of Lupus Anticoagulant (LA) ranged from 35% to 92% in ICU patients. Anti-cardiolipin (aCL) IgG and IgM were found in up to 52% and up to 40% of patients respectively. Anti-β2-glycoprotein I (aβ2-GPI) IgG and IgM were found in up to 39% and up to 34% of patients respectively. Between 1% and 12% of patients had a triple positive aPL profile. There was a high prevalence of aβ2-GPI and aCL IgA isotype. Two cohort studies found few persistent LA but more persistent solid phase assay aPL over time. aPL determination and their potential role is a real challenge for the treatment of this disease.

Este artigo apresenta os 10 anos de trajetória do projeto de extensão universitária Introcomp. O projeto visa introduzir a programação de computadores para estudantes de ensino médio da rede pública. O artigo apresenta uma reflexão sobre a experiência da equipe do Introcomp na aplicação de diferentes abordagens para facilitar a aprendizagem de programação para seu público-alvo no decorrer desses anos - passando da linguagem C para Python, de aulas tradicionais a aulas totalmente interativas, chegando em 2020 ao modelo totalmente remoto devido à pandemia de Covid-19. Com isso, o artigo mostra como as lições aprendidas têm ajudado a equipe a repensar o uso de metodologias, tecnologias e plataformas digitais no ensino de programação para jovens do ensino médio em tempos de pandemia. A contribuição deste trabalho traz um avanço para o estado da arte e tem o potencial de ampliar o entendimento da comunidade sobre intervenções de educação em computação direcionadas principalmente ao público jovem.

OBJECTIVES:In APS, precise evaluation of thrombotic risk is a major challenge. Different players, such as activated protein C (APC) resistance or neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) contribute to the risk of thrombosis. Nevertheless, no study has investigated the interaction between these actors. The main objective of this study was to investigate the relation between NETs and APC resistance.METHODS:We designed a cross-sectional study including APS/antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) patients and patients with autoimmune diseases (AID). We performed thrombin generation tests without and with APC to determine APC resistance. To evaluate circulating NETs, we measured plasma levels of MPO-DNA complexes and cell-free DNA with ELISA.RESULTS:We recruited 117 patients with definite APS/aPL or AID. We found a positive correlation between NETs and APC resistance, in APS patients and specifically in patients with high thrombotic risk, displaying LA or positivity of all three aPL tests (triple+), or anti-domain I IgG (aDI+). All these patient subgroups had increased NETs concentrations and APC resistance. As the risk profile for thrombosis increased, the relationship between NETs and APC resistance was stronger.CONCLUSION:We have shown that NETs participate in the hypercoagulable state of APS patients by contributing to APC resistance, in particular in high-risk patients. In these most at-risk patients, a targeted action on NETs could reduce APC resistance and constitute a new therapeutic approach in the treatment of APS patients in addition to antithrombotic therapy.

Abstract Introduction: The treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is increasingly performed via endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Different types of fixation are possible with EVAR, i.e., below (infrarenal fixation) or above (suprarenal fixation) the renal arteries. Hemodynamic alterations in renal arterial flow with suprarenal (SR) fixation remain to be demonstrated. The IFIXEAR (Impact of Supra-renal Fixation of EVAR on Hemodynamics of Renal Arteries) study is designed to assess the hemodynamic effects at the ostia of at least 1 renal artery, generated immediately post-surgery by the implantation of an aortic stent with SR fixation. Methods: IFIXEAR is a prospective, 2 center study. Every patient undergoing elective EVAR with SR fixation is eligible for inclusion. Patients with previous hemodynamic disturbances to the ostia of 1 of the renal arteries are not eligible. All patients undergo echocardiography and renal arteries duplex ultrasound within a month before surgery, and at 1 and 12 months after surgery. The primary endpoint is hemodynamic disturbance, defined as a peak systolic velocity greater than 120 cm/second, at the ostia of 1 of the renal arteries in the immediate postoperative period. Ethics and dissemination: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee “Comité de Protection des Personnes Ouest V” under the number 18/019-2 on April 20, 2018. All patients provide written informed consent before inclusion. The University Hospital of Besancon is the trial sponsor. Results of the study will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed international medical journal. Registration: The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03594786, principal investigator: Dr Patricia Costa, Registered on April 24, 2018).

L’insuffisance cardiaque à haut débit (ICHD) se définit par un index cardiaque à 4 L/min/m2 associé à des symptômes d’insuffisance cardiaque [1]. Les causes les plus communes sont l’obésité, la cirrhose hépatique, les pathologies pulmonaires chroniques, les syndromes myéloprolifératifs et les shunts extra cardiaques qui représentent à eux seuls 22 % des cas [1]. Ces shunts sont de différentes natures : fistules artério-veineuses artificielles de dialyse ou post-traumatiques, shunts pulmonaires de la maladie de Rendu Osler, shunt arterio-porte consécutifs à un hémangiome hépatique, ou encore les malformations atério-veineuse (MAV) abdomino-pelviennes. Nous rapportons le cas d’une femme de 44 ans qui présente une MAV pelvienne gauche découverte fortuitement en 2017 à l’occasion d’une grossesse. Après échec d’un traitement endovasculaire, la patiente asymptomatique est alors perdue de vue. Elle consulte 3 ans plus tard pour dyspnée d’effort progressive évoluant depuis 6 mois au stade NYHA III. L’examen clinique révèle un souffle systolique diffus à 3/6 sans signe d’insuffisance cardiaque gauche ou droite. Le bilan biologique montre une TSH normale, Hémoglobine à 13 g/dL, BHCG négatif, BNP à 100 pg/ml. L’ECG est normal. L’échographie cardiaque met en évidence une dilatation ventriculaire gauche avec DTDVG mesuré à 64 mm (Fig. 1), FEVG conservée, Débit cardiaque échographique mesuré à 13 L/min sur le flux d’ITV sous aortique, absence de valvulopathie, les PAPS sont estimées à 45 mmHg. Ces données sont confirmées par un cathétérisme cardiaque droit montrant un hyperdébit à 15,76 L/min selon la méthode de Fick soit Index cardiaque à 8,4 L/min/m2, associé à une hypertension pulmonaire post-capillaire non disproportionnée (RVP à 1 UW) avec PAPm à 34 mmHg et PAPO à 19 mmHg. Les oxymétries étagées éliminent un shunt intra-cardiaque. Un nouvel angioscanner abdomino-pelvien retrouve une volumineuse MAV de près de 9 cm de grand axe (Fig. 2, Fig. 3). L’échographie doppler confirme la présence d’un hyperdébit au niveau de la MAV (Fig. 4). Après deux échecs de fermeture de MAV par procédures endovasculaires, et la persistance de la symptomatologie ainsi que de l’hyperdébit échographique, la patiente a été adressée à un centre spécialisé parisien. Les shunts extra cardiaques constituent la 3e cause d’ICHD. La baisse des résistances vasculaires systémiques est au centre du processus physiopathologique et est aussi corrélée au mauvais pronostic de l’ICHD. Les shunts sont par ailleurs associés à une mortalité plus importante que les autres causes d’ICHD [1]. Les MAV pelviennes sporadiques sont rares et se manifestent le plus souvent par des signes d’insuffisance cardiaque [2]. La fermeture de ces shunts est le traitement curatif de l’ICHD. Peu d’hyperdébit de cette ampleur ont été décrits dans la littérature [1]. Les shunts extra cardiaques représentent une cause importante d’ICHD dont le pronostic est plus sévère. Certains de ces shunts comme les MAV pelvienne sont accessibles à un traitement de fermeture curateur de l’ICHD.

The explosion of smart objects made companies rethink their Business Model (BM) using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and the Internet of Things (IoT) aiming to improve their Business Processes (BP) to achieve competitiveness. Business environments are complex due to the wide variety of technologies, hardware and software solutions that compose heterogeneous enterprise environments. On the other hand, putting real-world IoT scenarios into practice is still a challenge for even experienced developers, because it requires low-level programming skills and, at the same time, specific domain knowledge of a company's BM. This research paper proposes LAURA - Lean AUtomatic code generation for situation aware and business-awaRe Applications, a flexible, service-oriented and general open-source conceptual architecture, designed to support the deployment of decoupled IoT applications. Empirical evaluation has shown that LAURA simplifies the development of final Situation-Aware or Business-Aware applications, reducing the need for specialized IoT low-level knowledge, while showing an acceptable performance. LAURA also provides the freedom and independence to modify, adapt or integrate its architecture according to specific needs of the stakeholders. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An early warning system (EWS) is a distributed system that monitors the physical world and issues warnings if it detects abnormal situations. The Internet of Things (IoT) offers opportunities to improve monitoring capabilities of EWS and to realize (near) real-time warning and response. This paper presents the development of an interoperable IoT-based EWS to detect accident risks with trucks that deliver goods at the Valencia port area. Our solution addresses the semantic integration of a variety of data sources with processing in safety-critical applications for effective emergency response. The solution considers existing domain-specific ontologies and standards, along with their serialization formats. Accident risks are assessed by monitoring the drivers’ vital signs with ECG medical wearables and the trucks’ position with speed and accelerometer data. Use cases include the detection of health issues and vehicle collision with dangerous goods. This EWS is developed with the SEMIoTICS framework, which encompasses a model-driven architecture that guides the application of data representations, transformations, and distributed software components. This framework enables an EWS to act as a semantic broker for situation-aware decision support.

Approaches to simulation in the literature range from conventional object-orientation programming, which dates back to the seminal Simula programming language, to the more recent graphical modeling environments in the scope of agent-based modeling and simulation. Despite their clear impact and benefits, we have observed that these approaches have not yet provided support for situation lifecycle management, and do not address a notion of “situation” explicitly. In this paper, we perform a case study in order to examine how the various approaches support the design and execution of simulations. We are particularly interested in contrasting existing approaches to simulation with a declarative rule-based approach that supports situations explicitly. We take into account design time concerns as well as execution time performance. The study focuses on the simulation of populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in urban environments.

An Early Warning System (EWS) is a system-of-systems that is able to detect emergency risks and warn different stakeholders. Semantic interoperability is crucial in these systems because it enables unambiguous data exchange, so that different data sources can be integrated with EWS'. This chapter presents the results of our systematic literature review on EWS interoperability. The research questions targeted existing interoperable EWS' and their architecture and components' functions, emphasizing the role of data representation mechanisms, for example, data/message models, protocols and ontologies. Since semantic models rely on syntactical models, this review also includes these data representation approches. This chapter also analyzes the main issues concerning the improvement of EWS interoperability, stressing the role of the internet of Things in smart situation-aware emergency services. We conclude by proposing topics for follow-up research.

It is no surprise that the notion of situation is key to situation awareness. The development of the discipline can thus benefit from careful analysis of the notion. In this paper, we approach this by proposing an ontology of situations and scenes. The main contribution of this ontology is that it accounts for how situations progress in time changing qualitatively, constituting what we call scenes. The ontology is built by reusing basic elements from the Unified Foundational Ontology (UFO). It addresses objects, occurrences, and their formal relations to situations and scenes. We use the theory of embodiment proposed by the philosopher Kit Fine to explicate how scenes and situations form wholes constituted of parts.

Com o intuito de fomentar a programação avançada entre os alunos capixabas de informática, o Programa de Educação Tutorial (PET) de Engenharia de Computação da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES) realiza anualmente o evento TopCom como um preparatório para competições de programação. Neste artigo são discutidos os processos para a realização de tal evento e sua importância para o meio acadêmico do Espírito Santo.

O mosquito Aedes aegypti é o principal vetor das doenças Zika, Dengue, Chicungunha e Febre Amarela. Este artigo descreve a pesquisa em simulação computacional sobre o comportamento deste mosquito e sobre a eficácia de armadilhas em um certo cenário geográfico predefinido. A simulação computacional modela três aspectos fundamentais: (i) a reprodução dos mosquitos em focos, (ii) o crescimento da população de mosquitos, e (iii) o combate do vetor através de armadilhas. O objetivo principal desta simulação é a verificação dos locais mais adequados para a implantação de armadilhas com o propósito de combater os mosquitos, diminuindo as possibilidades de uma epidemia. Como resultado do trabalho foi desenvolvida uma ferramenta que contribui para o planejamento do combate ao vetor, melhorando a eficácia das ações de prevenção.

An early warning system (EWS) is an integrated system that supports the detection, monitoring and alerting of emergency situations. A possible application of an EWS is in epidemiological surveillance, to detect infectious disease outbreaks in geographical areas. In this scenario, a challenge in the development and integration of applications on top of EWS is to achieve common understanding between epidemiologists and software developers, allowing the specification of rules resulted from epidemiological studies. To address this challenge this paper describes an ontology-based model-driven engineering (MDE) framework that relies on the Situation Modelling Language (SML), a knowledge specification technique for situation identification. Some requirements are realized by revisiting SML, which resulted in a complete redesign of its semantics, abstract and concrete syntaxes. The initial validation shows that our framework can accelerate the generation of high quality situation-aware applications, being suitable for other application scenarios.

In order to leverage the benefits of the notion of situation at design time, proper support is required at the modeling level. In the past, this need has led to the development of a situation type specification language called SML. Although SML facilitates the definition of situation types by providing a graphical notation, designers could profit from additional support in order to assess the quality of the situation type models they produce. Since situations consist of combinations of context elements and may also be combined into complex situations, composition may lead to inconsistent, redundant and/or unintended situation type definitions. In order to address this challenge, in this paper we present a formal validation method for situation modeling based on the automatic transformation of SML models into a lightweight formal method.