Armanda Rodrigues

Flood Emergency Interaction and Visualization System

In this paper we describe a visualization system for an emergency simulation. We start by presenting a flooding emergency case scenario and all the elements that are involved in it. Then we describe the design decisions that were made in order to create a credible representation of the scene. This includes using a game engine to render the scenario using a three-dimensional terrain, with objects and information retrieved from geographic information systems. Additionally we describe experiments with new touch and tangible devices that support a war table like interaction with the simulation. We further describe our ideas for the emergency interface and conclude describing the directions for future work.

Improving the Quality of Web-GIS Modularity Using Aspects

Spatial concerns of Web Geographical Information Systems (Web-GIS) are inherently crosscutting and volatile: crosscutting because they affect multiple functionalities of Web-GIS systems, such as visualization of a route in a map, volatile because their status may change often (e.g., in a map, a route can be obstructed temporarily due to a car accident or festivity, so alternative routes should be provided dynamically). The quality of Web-GIS services, in particular the efficiency required for their adaptation and evolution, can be compromised if volatility and the crosscutting nature of spatial concerns are not taken into consideration during modularization. This paper presents an aspect-oriented approach for Web-GIS applications. This approach models crosscutting spatial concerns and handles the volatile nature of some spatial concerns as if these were crosscutting. Thus, both types of concerns, crosscutting and volatile, are modeled as candidate aspects. By modularizing volatile concerns as aspects, it is simple to add and remove them at runtime from an application by using dynamic weaving. The approach starts with the identification and specification of crosscutting concerns and follows by composing them using MATA, an aspect-oriented modeling technique. GIS crosscutting concerns are stored and documented in a concern catalogue for promoting their reuse. Conflicts regarding the ordering of composition are also taken into account.

Canine leishmaniosis. Modulation of macrophage/lymphocyte interactions by L. infantum

Canine leishmaniosis, caused by Leishmania infantum, is a systemic disease with variable clinical signs and a progressive evolution. This disease is characterized by impaired T cell-mediated immune response, which has been associated with disease chronicity and high mortality. Protective immunity against leishmaniosis is thought to be mediated by T cell and cytokine production. The T cell activation requires a primary signal delivered by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules present on the surface of antigen presenting cells, and a non-specific signal generated by co-stimulatory molecules. To characterize canine immune responses in the presence of L. infantum parasites or their antigens, in vitro cell cultures of canine macrophages and lymphocytes were established, and the macrophages presenting MHC class II molecules were evaluated as well as the expression of IL-12 and CD80-86 co-stimulatory molecules and nitric oxide production. The results showed for the first time the up-regulation of MHC class II molecules on the surface in canine peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages during L. infantum infection in the presence of lymphocytes. In addition, a lack of co-stimulatory expression and a reduced release of nitric oxide were observed, suggesting a loss of T cell function and consequently an inactivation of the macrophage oxidative burst which, in turn, favors the survival of Leishmania. These results constitute a new contribution for the understanding of the interactions between L. infantum and the canine immune system.

New insights into neutrophil and Leishmania infantum in vitro immune interactions

The interaction between polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) or neutrophils and Leishmania became an interesting focus of research, since PMN turn out to be essential cells in transiently hosting the parasites. This study aims to evaluate whether L. infantum, the etiological agent of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis, influences the in vitro functional activity of murine neutrophils. Phagocytosis, chemotaxis, oxidative burst, degranulation and apoptosis assays were performed. Cytokines, chemokines and toll-like receptors gene expression were evaluated by Real-time PCR. Results indicate that some of the innate features of PMN immunity were activated when in contact with L. infantum. However, parasites might negatively interfere with PMN defense mechanisms compromising the link between innate and acquired immunity. This work provides additional insights on the inflammatory immune interactions between neutrophils and L. infantum highlighting the role of PMN in Leishmania infection.

Using GPS Logs to Identify Agronomical Activities

The chapter presents an approach for collecting and identifying the daily rounds of agronomists working in the field for a farming products company. Besides recognizing their daily movements, the approach enables the collection of data about the shape and size of land parcels belonging to the company’s clients. The work developed involved the design of spatial movement patterns for data collection through GPS logs, with minimal disruption of the agronomists’ activities. The extracting of these patterns involved place and activity extraction, with specific algorithms proposed for marking and unmarking exploration parcels. These algorithms were evaluated by field testing with very positive results.

Generation of an antibody that recognizes Plasmodium chabaudi cysteine protease (chabaupain-1) in both sexual and asexual parasite life cycle and evaluation of chabaupain-1 vaccine potential.

Malaria cysteine proteases have been shown to be immunogenic and are being exploited as serodiagnostic markers, drug and vaccine targets. Several Plasmodium spp. cysteine proteases have been described and the best characterized of these are the falcipains, a family of papain-family enzymes. Falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 act in concert with other proteases to hydrolyze host erythrocyte hemoglobin in the parasite food vacuole. Falcipain-1 has less similarity to the other falcipains and its physiological role in parasite asexual blood stage still remains uncertain. Immunolocalization studies using an antibody developed against the Plasmodium chabaudi recombinant chabaupain-1, the falcipain-1 ortholog, were performed confirming its cellular localization in both erythrocyte and mosquito ookinete stage. Immunostaining of chabaupain-1 preferentially in apical portion of parasite ookinete suggests that this protease may be related with parasite egression from mosquito midgut. Immune responses to chabaupain-1 were evaluated using two different adjuvants, chitosan nanoparticles and hydroxide aluminum. Mice immunized with the recombinant protein alone or in association with nanoparticles were challenged with P. chabaudi showing that immunization with the recombinant protein confers partial protection to blood stage infection in BALB/c animal model.

Leishmania infantum antigens modulate memory cell subsets of liver resident T lymphocyte

In the recent years, the liver has been recognized as an important immune organ with major regulatory functions and immune memory, adding to the well-described vital metabolic functions. There are evidences from experimental infections performed with visceral Leishmania species that immune responses to parasite infection can be organ-specific. The liver is the compartment of acute resolving infection, with minimal tissue damage and resistance to reinfection, whereas the spleen is the compartment of parasite persistence. Control of hepatic infection in mice requires a coordinated immune response that involves the development of inflammatory granulomas. It is also described that the liver harbors populations of resident lymphocytes, which may exhibit memory characteristics. Therefore, the present study aims to address the role of the liver as an immune memory organ in the context of Leishmania infantum infection, by characterizing phenotypically resident liver T lymphocytes. The dynamics of memory T cells in L. infantum infected BALB/c mice and the effect of anti-leishmanial treatment in the differentiation of memory cell subsets were analyzed. The potential of recognition, differentiation and selection of memory lymphocytes by three L. infantum recombinant proteins were also explored. L. infantum infection generates effector and central memory T cells, but the cells did not expand when recalled, demonstrating a possible parasite silencing effect. The treatment with a leishmanicidal drug (antimoniate meglumine) increases the levels of memory and effector T cells, eliciting a more robust hepatic immune response. L. infantum parasites with a decreased sensitivity to the leishmanicidal drug favor the expansion of memory CD8+ T cell subset, but inhibit the proliferation of CD8+ T effector cells, possibly assuring their own survival. The recombinant proteins LirCyp1 and LirSOD are strongly recognized by memory cells of treated mice, indicating that these proteins might be used in a prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine formulation. Thus, L. infantum released antigens induce the development of immune memory subsets in the liver resident T cell population that specifically recognized parasite antigens, including recombinant proteins.

Indirect Keyword Recommendation

Helping users to find useful contacts or potentially interesting subjects is a challenge for social and productive networks. The evidence of the content produced by users must be considered in this task, which may be simplified by the use of the meta-data associated with the content, i.e., The categorization supported by the network -- descriptive keywords, or tags. In this paper we present a model that enables keyword discovery methods through the interpretation of the network as a graph, solely relying on keywords that categorize or describe productive items. The model and keyword discovery methods presented in this paper avoid content analysis, and move towards a generic approach to the identification of relevant interests and, eventually, contacts. The evaluation of the model and methods is executed by two experiments that perform frequency and classification analyses over the Flickr network. The results show that we can efficiently recommend keywords to users.

Web-GIS models: accomplishing modularity with aspects

Spatial concerns of Web geographical information systems (Web-GIS) are inherently crosscutting and volatile: crosscutting because they affect multiple functionalities of Web-GIS systems, and volatile because their status may change often. If these concerns are not modularized properly, the quality of Web-GIS services, particularly with regard to adaptation and evolution, can be severely compromised. This paper uses aspect-orientation to model crosscutting and volatile spatial concerns. By modeling both types of concerns, crosscutting and volatile, as candidate aspects, one can use dynamic weaving to add or remove them from a system at runtime. The aspect-oriented approach proposed starts with the identification and specification of crosscutting concerns and follows by composing these using modeling aspects using a transformation approach, an aspect-oriented modeling technique. The conflicts that can emerge due to the composition order are also taken into consideration. Finally, this paper proposes a set of reusable GIS crosscutting concerns, documenting them in a concern catalogue.

A Mobile System to Visualize Patterns of Everyday Life

The paper describes an ambient intelligence proposal, an application which runs on mobile phones, presenting individual users with an overview of their time usage patterns. It tracks users’ movements in space using GPS technology and displays this information, aiming to highlight changes to their normal routine. The output, a data visualization interface, displayed on the phone is designed to produce a highly personal topology of time usage. Rooted in a deep interest in unveiling the hidden patterns of everyday life, this work aims to research Ubicomp in a personal context. By placing the software literally in the user’s pocket (mobile phone), it is implied the best way for one to reflect upon the issue is through experience.