Detection of Horizontal Two-Phase Flow Patterns Through a Neural Network Model

One of the main problems related to the transport and manipulation of multiphase fluids concerns the existence of characteristic flow patterns and its strong influence on important operation parameters. A good example of this occurs in gas-liquid chemical reactors in which maximum efficiencies can be achieved by maintaining a finely dispersed bubbly flow to maximize the total interfacial area. Thus, the ability to automatically detect flow patterns is of crucial importance, especially for the adequate operation of multiphase systems. This work describes the application of a neural model to process the signals delivered by a direct imaging probe to produce a diagnostic of the corresponding flow pattern. The neural model is constituted of six independent neural modules, each of which trained to detect one of the main horizontal flow patterns, and a last winner-take-all layer responsible for resolving when two or more patterns are simultaneously detected. Experimental signals representing different bubbly, intermittent, annular and stratified flow patterns were used to validate the neural model.

A política externa do Brasil no século XXI: os eixos combinados de cooperação horizontal e vertical

Avaliando a primeira década do século XXI, a política externa do Brasil tem passado por uma evolução significativa caracterizada por uma posição internacional e projeção de poder assertiva, dinamizando parcerias estratégicas com países desenvolvidos e emergentes. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar as prioridades desta agenda e os potenciais relacionados a estes esforços de cooperação bi e multilateral horizontal e vertical.

Cooperação horizontal Sul-Sul: arranjos de concertação política entre a Índia, o Brasil e a África do Sul

Este trabalho busca examinar o desempenho político da concertação internacional entre a Índia, o Brasil e a África do Sul a partir do comportamento das políticas externas dos países concertados. A hipótese é de que o desempenho político eficiente de uma concertação internacional entre Estados Intermediários depende de políticas externas assertivas e alinhadas na busca por atingir as preferências (metas institucionais) de sua concertação, dimensionadas aqui para avaliação no âmbito de instituições internacionais como a Organização das Nações Unidas e a Organização Mundial do Comércio.

Ensuring dynamic strategic fit of firms that compete globally in alliances and networks: proposing the Global SNA - Strategic Network Analysis - framework

In order to sustain their competitive advantage in the current increasingly globalized and turbulent context, more and more firms are competing globally in alliances and networks that oblige them to adopt new managerial paradigms and tools. However, their strategic analyses rarely take into account the strategic implications of these alliances and networks, considering their global relational characteristics, admittedly because of a lack of adequate tools to do so. This paper contributes to research that seeks to fill this gap by proposing the Global Strategic Network Analysis - SNA - framework. Its purpose is to help firms that compete globally in alliances and networks to carry out their strategic assessments and decision-making with a view to ensuring dynamic strategic fit from both a global and relational perspective.

A blockmodel study of managerial hierarchies, verbal networks, and organizational culture in four hospitals

This study demonstrates and applies a social network methodology for studying the dynamics of hierarchies in organizations. Social network (blockmodel) analysis of verbal networks in four hospitals contrasted hierarchical and structurally equivalent partitions of the sociomatrices of frequent ties and perceptions of organizational culture. It was found that the verbal networks in these organizations follow a center periphery pattern rather than a hierarchical logic and that perceptions of culture vary more by verbal network than by formal hierarchy. The perceptions of culture of central groups in one organization are much like those of peripheral groups in another. In all four hospitals, structurally equivalent social networks are more important in predicting subcultures than are hierarchical groupings and hierarchy has a limited impact on the development of verbal networks. These findings suggest the value of an amoeba rather than a pyramid metaphor in interpreting the cultures and relational structures of organizations.

Experimental infection and horizontal transmission of Bartonella henselae in domestic cats

In order to study B. henselae transmission among cats, five young cats were kept in confinement for two years, one of them being inoculated by SC route with B. henselae (10(5) UFC). Only occasional contact among cats occurred but the presence of fleas was observed in all animals throughout the period. Blood culture for isolation of bacteria, PCR-HSP and FTSZ (gender specific), and BH-PCR (species-specific), as well as indirect immunofluorescence method for anti-B. henselae antibodies were performed to confirm the infection of the inoculated cat as well as the other naive cats. Considering the inoculated animal, B. henselae was first isolated by blood culture two months after inoculation, bacteremia last for four months, the specific antibodies being detected by IFI during the entire period. All contacting animals presented with bacteremia 6 months after experimental inoculation but IFI did not detect seroconversion in these animals. All the isolates from these cats were characterized as Bartonella (HSP and FTSZ-PCR), henselae (BH-PCR). However, DNA of B. henselae could not be amplified directly from peripheral blood by the PCR protocols used. Isolation of bacteria by blood culture was the most efficient method to diagnose infection compared to PCR or IFI. The role of fleas in the epidemiology of B. henselae infection in cats is discussed.

HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS 1 (HTLV-1) AND HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS 2 (HTLV-2): GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH TRENDS AND COLLABORATION NETWORKS (1989-2012)

Publications are often used as a measure of research work success. Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type 1 and 2 are human retroviruses, which were discovered in the early 1980s, and it is estimated that 15-20 million people are infected worldwide. This article describes a bibliometric review and a coauthorship network analysis of literature on HTLV indexed in PubMed in a 24-year period. A total of 7,564 documents were retrieved, showing a decrease in the number of documents from 1996 to 2007. HTLV manuscripts were published in 1,074 journals. Japan and USA were the countries with the highest contribution in this field (61%) followed by France (8%). Production ranking changed when the number of publications was normalized by population (Dominican Republic and Japan), by gross domestic product (Guinea-Bissau and Gambia), and by gross national income per capita (Brazil and Japan). The present study has shed light on some of the defining features of scientific collaboration performed by HTLV research community, such as the existence of core researchers responsible for articulating the development of research in the area, facilitating wider collaborative relationships and the integration of new authors in the research groups.

Evolution of coauthorship networks: worldwide scientific production on leishmaniasis

Introduction Collaboration is one of the defining features of contemporary scientific research, and it is particularly important with regard to neglected diseases that primarily affect developing countries. Methods The present study has identified publications on leishmaniasis in the Medline database from 1945 to 2010, analyzing them according to bibliometric indicators and statistics from social network analysis. Examining aspects such as scientific production, diachronic evolution, and collaboration and configuration of the research groups in the field, we have considered the different types of Leishmania studied and the institutional affiliation and nationality of the authors. Results Seven-hundred and thirty-five authors participate in 154 prominent research clusters or groups. Although the most predominant and consolidated collaborations are characterized by members from the same country studying the same type of Leishmania, there are also notable links between authors from different countries or who study different clinical strains of the disease. Brazil took the lead in this research, with numerous Brazilian researchers heading different clusters in the center of the collaboration network. Investigators from the USA, India, and European countries, such as France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Italy, also stand out within the network. Conclusions Research should be fostered in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, and Ethiopia, where there is a high prevalence of different forms of the disease but limited research development with reference authors integrated into the collaboration networks.

Ecologia dos Oligoghaeta da Amazônia. I. Estudo da migração horizontal e vertical de Chibui bari (Glossoscolecidae, Oligochaeta) através de observações de campo.

Trabalhando na área do Parque Zoobotânico da uFAc e em outras duas áreas no município de Rio Branco, AC, estudamos de dezembro de 1982 a março de 1984 a migração de Chibui bari (Glossoscoleclidae, Oligochaeta). Foram determinadas a temperatura, o pH e a umidade do solo bem como a precipitação mensal durante o período do estudo. As médias do pH e da temperatura do solo não apresentara diferenças estatisticamente entre o verão e o inverno. Verificamos que esta espécie se mantém ativa durante o inverno e é durante este que realiza os dois tipos de migração, vertical e horizontal. Durante o verão os animais permaneceram em estivação a aproximadamente 96,o cm de profundidade em contraste com a profundidade máxima de atividade que foi de 42,0 cm. As migrações foram limitadas pela umidade do solo e também pela disponibilidade de alimento'neste.

AVALIAÇÃO DE GENÓTIPOS DE SERINGUEIRA (Hevea spp.) AO Microcyclus ulei VISANDO À IDENTIFICAÇÃO DE FONTES DE RESISTÊNCIA HORIZONTAL

Avaliou-se, sob condições controladas, a resistência de genótipos de seringueira ao mal-das-folhas. Empregaram-se dois isolados de Microcyclus ulei, pertencentes aos grupos I e II. Utilizaram-se mudas em sacos plásticos e inocularam-se folíolos nos estádios B1/B2 com uma suspensão de 2 χ 105conídios/ml. Incubaram-se as mudas em câmara úmida a 24° C por 24 horas. Determinaram-se o período latente (PL), diâmetro das lesões (DL), tipo de lesão (TL) e tipo de reação (TR). A maioria dos genótipos testados foi suscetível a pelo menos um isolado do patógeno. Os genótipos que apresentaram resistência moderada, com maior período latente e menor esporulação a um isolado, em geral, foram suscetíveis ao outro. Apenas o genotipo AM/86/271 exibiu resistência incompleta, caracterizada por maior PL, menor DL e baixa esporulação. Entretanto, o número de isolados testados não assegurou o caráter da resistência. Com base nos resultados obtidos concluiu-se que os genótipos avaliados não apresentaram perspectivas para utilização em programas de melhoramento visando resistência ao M.ulei.

Fauna de flebotomíneos (Diptera: Psychodidae) em fragmentos florestais ao redor de conjuntos habitacionais na cidade de Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil: II. Estratificação horizontal

No período Janeiro a agosto de 1999, foi realizado um estudo sobre a presença de flebotomíneos em duas áreas de floresta residual, situadas próximas e no peri e domicilio de conjuntos habitacionais, na periferia da cidade de Manaus, Estado do Amazonas. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a fauna de flebotomíneos e observar possíveis mudanças de hábito principalmente nos vetores da leishmaniose cutânea. Foram realizadas coletas de flebotomíneos na bases de árvores no estrato entre 0 e 2 metros. As fêmeas foram dissecados para a procura de flagelados. Na Estrada do Turismo, capturamos 579 flebotomíneos de 12 espécies; 545 na floresta residual e 33 espécimes na área domiciliar. Na outra área, Cidade de Deus, foram capturados 976 exemplares de 21 espécies; 883 flebotomos na floresta residual e 72 espécimes no ambiente domiciliar. Todas as 375 fêmeas dissecadas foram negativas para flagelados. Lutzomyia umbratilis Ward & Fraiha,1997 foi a espécie mais abundante em todos os ambientes de coletas.

Radiação solar em superfieies horizontal e vertical com exposição norte

In the field of agrometeorological studies we are in need of the estimation of the solar radiation frequently. At the present study the authors have worked out some dat:t regarding the hours of sunshine during the months of August, September, October, November, December and January of 1957, 1958 and 1959. Based on such hours of sunshine in the Agrometeorological Station, located at the Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" - U.S. P., in Piracicaba, the authors calculated the solar radiation received on a plane and horizontal surface, from the method proposed by Glover and Mc Culloch. With those results the authors estimated the percentual part of radiation that would be received on vertical wall facing north.

Distribuição horizontal da macrofauna bentônica na praia do Cassino, extremo sul do Brasil

A distribuição horizontal da macrofauna bentônica na praia do Cassino, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil foi estudada durante o período de um ano (junho 2004 a maio de 2005) com base em coletas mensais. Foram escolhidos três locais, com 50 m de distância um do outro, sendo que em cada local foram fundeadas três transversais 2 m equidistantes. Cada transversal estendeu-se da base das dunas primárias até aproximadamente 1 m de profundidade no infralitoral. A distância dos níveis de coleta em cada transversal foi de 20 m até o limite superior da zona de varrido, a partir do qual a distância foi de 10 m. Em algumas ocasiões foi evidenciada variação espacial horizontal de alguns dos principais táxons, bem como da comunidade bentônica dentro de uma escala de 50 m e 100 m. Esta variação foi provavelmente reflexo da ação das marés meteorológicas que causam abrupta elevação do nível do mar.

Future trypanosomatid phylogenies: refined homologies, supertrees and networks

There has been good progress in inferring the evolutionary relationships within trypanosomes from DNA data as until relatively recently, many relationships have remained rather speculative. Ongoing molecular studies have provided data that have adequately shown Trypanosoma to be monophyletic and, rather surprisingly, that there are sharply contrasting levels of genetic variation within and between the major trypanosomatid groups. There are still, however, areas of research that could benefit from further development and resolution that broadly fall upon three questions. Are the current statements of evolutionary homology within ribosomal small sub-unit genes in need of refinement? Can the published phylograms be expanded upon to form `supertrees' depicting further relationships? Does a bifurcating tree structure impose an untenable dogma upon trypanosomatid phylogeny where hybridisation or reticulate evolutionary steps have played a part? This article briefly addresses these three questions and, in so doing, hopes to stimulate further interest in the molecular evolution of the group.