Product development process: Using real options for assessments and to support the decision-making at decision gates

Enterprises need continuous product development activities to remain competitive in the marketplace. Their product development process (PDP) must manage stakeholders' needs - technical, financial, legal, and environmental aspects, customer requirements, Corporate strategy, etc. -, being a multidisciplinary and strategic issue. An approach to use real option to support the decision-making process at PDP phases in taken. The real option valuation method is often presented as an alternative to the conventional net present value (NPV) approach. It is based on the same principals of financial options: the right to buy or sell financial values (mostly stocks) at a predetermined price, with no obligation to do so. In PDP, a multi-period approach that takes into account the flexibility of, for instance, being able to postpone prototyping and design decisions, waiting for more information about technologies, customer acceptance, funding, etc. In the present article, the state of the art of real options theory is prospected and a model to use the real options in PDP is proposed, so that financial aspects can be properly considered at each project phase of the product development. Conclusion is that such model can provide more robustness to the decisions processes within PDP.

Effectiveness and safety of a new vaginal misoprostol product specifically labeled for cervical ripening and labor induction

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of misoprostol in two different formulations: vaginal tablets of 25 mu g and one-eighth of a 200-mu g oral tablet, also administered intravaginally, for cervical ripening and labor induction of term pregnancies with an indication for that. Methods. A single-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was carried out in 120 pregnant women who randomly received one of the two formulations. The main dependent variables were mode of delivery, need for additional oxytocin, time between beginning of induction and delivery, perinatal results, complications, and maternal side effects. Student's t, Mann-Whitney, chi(2), Fisher's Exact, Wilcoxon and Kolmogorov-Smirnoff tests, as well as survival analysis, were used in the data analysis. Results. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of general characteristics, uterine contractility, and fetal well-being during labor, cesarean section rates, perinatal outcomes, or maternal adverse events. The mean time between the beginning of cervical ripening and delivery was 31.3 h in the vaginal tablet group and 30.1 h in the oral tablet group, a difference that was not statistically significant. Conclusion. The results showed that the 25-mu g vaginal tablets of misoprostol were as effective and safe for cervical ripening and labor induction as the dose-equivalent fraction of 200-mu g oral tablets.

Biodegradable Nanoparticles Containing Benzopsoralens: An Attractive Strategy for Modifying Vascular Function in Pathological Skin Disorders

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Tissue distribution of a plasmid DNA encoding Hsp65 gene is dependent on the dose administered through intramuscular delivery

In order to assess a new strategy of DNA vaccine for a more complete understanding of its action in immune response, it is important to determine the in vivo biodistribution fate and antigen expression. In previous studies, our group focused on the prophylactic and therapeutic use of a plasmid DNA encoding the Mycobacterium leprae 65-kDa heat shock protein (Hsp65) and achieved an efficient immune response induction as well as protection against virulent M. tuberculosis challenge. In the present study, we examined in vivo tissue distribution of naked DNA-Hsp65 vaccine, the Hsp65 message, genome integration and methylation status of plasmid DNA. The DNA-Hsp65 was detectable in several tissue types, indicating that DNA-Hsp65 disseminates widely throughout the body. The biodistribution was dose-dependent. In contrast, RT-PCR detected the Hsp65 message for at least 15 days in muscle or liver tissue from immunized mice. We also analyzed the methylation status and integration of the injected plasmid DNA into the host cellular genome. The bacterial methylation pattern persisted for at least 6 months, indicating that the plasmid DNA-Hsp65 does not replicate in mammalian tissue, and Southern blot analysis showed that plasmid DNA was not integrated. These results have important implications for the use of DNA-Hsp65 vaccine in a clinical setting and open new perspectives for DNA vaccines and new considerations about the inoculation site and delivery system. © 2006 Coelho-Castelo et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Prospective analysis about the world wide strategy of commercial vehicles development

The main objective of this paper is to make a prospective analysis about the tendencies of the world wide strategies of commercial vehicles development, in relation of the current local and international scenery. It has been done a research by using the Delphi method, which consists into regulate, systematically, the presentation of questions about a specified problem to a group of specialists. In order to guarantee more representative data, it has been adopted three distinct groups: academics, OEMs managers and Tier 1 suppliers managers. The results showed that the three mentioned groups have similar opinion about the necessity of having a product development in the subsidiaries companies; also it has been pointed the necessity of having more taylor made vehicles, due to the intrinsic characteristics of this industry segment. Copyright © 2008 SAE International.

Structural change and productivity growth, 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities

Includes bibliography

Effect of periodontal treatment on the incidence of preterm delivery: a systematic review.

Preterm birth is a major problem in public health in developed and developing countries and the search for risk factors of this event is important. The aim of this study was to review the effect of periodontal treatment on the incidence of preterm delivery. A wide research was executed considering an evaluation period between November of 1998 and October of 2009 at MEDLINE/PUBMED databases. The selection strategy consisted of the search for the following key-words: periodontal therapy or periodontal disease and pregnancy outcome or preterm birth. The search was limited for articles written in English. The randomized clinical trials that evaluated the effect of the non-surgical periodontal treatment on the incidence of Preterm Low Birth Weight (PLBW) were selected. In a total of 7 papers selected, the incidence of PLBW was lower in groups of women who were submitted to periodontal treatment. Reductions of Preterm Birth (PTB) ranged from 0.8% to 28.01%, while reduction of Low Birth Weight (LBW) ranged from 0.44% to 33%. In studies that analyzed these two variables together, there was variation between 4.57% to 71.5% in rates reduction. Due to heterogeneity of the data, the meta-analysis was not applied. The majority of the studies concluded that non-surgical periodontal treatment in pregnant women reduces incidence of preterm babies with low weight.

Operations strategy and supply chain management: A Brazilian case study

The objective of this study is to understand how an assembly company, that is considered a focal company in the chain of Brazilian white goods sector, can influence the supply chain management established with its first tier suppliers. This is an exploratory qualitative study in which the information was gathered through direct observations, documents' retention, and data from interviews held with management-level employees of the sales and product development areas of the focal company and of the production area of the suppliers' companies. This study indicates that the operations strategy of the focal company influences the supply chain management and that the common business processes shared by its suppliers are a way to verify the truth of such statement. The suppliers cooperate closely with the focal company when complementing their business processes and consequently supporting the company to pursue its operations strategy. A set of mechanisms to aid the comprehension of how the operations strategy can affect the business processes and therefore to achieve the result of this research were adopted. © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2012.

Structural change and productivity growth 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities. Summary

Includes bibliography

In vitro evaluation of permeation, toxicity and effect of praziquantel-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles against Schistosoma mansoni as a strategy to improve efficacy of the schistosomiasis treatment

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Therapeutic Delivery of miR-200c Enhances Radiosensitivity in Lung Cancer

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Nanostructured Lipid Carriers as a Strategy to Improve the In Vitro Schistosomiasis Activity of Praziquantel

Praziquantel (PZQ) is a pyrazinoisoquinoline anthelmintic that was discovered in 1972 by Bayer Germany. Currently, due to its efficacy, PZQ is the drug of choice against all species of Schistosoma. Although widely used, PZQ exhibits low and erratic bioavailability because of its poor water solubility. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), second-generation solid lipid nanoparticles, were developed in the 1990s to improve the bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate nanostructured lipid carriers as a strategy to improve the efficacy. of PZQ in S. mansoni treatment. We prepared NLC2 and NLC4 by adding seventy percent glycerol monostearate (GMS) as the solid lipid, 30% oleic acid (OA) as the liquid lipid and two surfactant systems containing either soybean phosphatidylcholine/poloxamer (PC/P-407) or phosphatidylcholine/Tween 60 (PC/T60), respectively. The carriers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. The safety profile was evaluated using red cell hemolysis and in vitro cytotoxicity assays. The results showed that the encapsulation of PZQ in NLC2 or NLC4 improved the safety profile of the drug. Treatment efficacy was evaluated on the S. mansoni BH strain. PZQ-NLC2 and PZQ-NLC4 demonstrated an improved efficacy in comparison with free PZQ. The results showed that the intestinal transport of free PZQ and PZQ-NLC2 was similar. However, we observed that the concentration of PZQ absorbed was smaller when PZQ was loaded in NLC4. The difference between the amounts of absorbed PZQ could indicate that the presence of T60 in the nanoparticles (NLC4) increased the rigid lipid matrix, prolonging release of the drug. Both systems showed considerable in vitro activity against S. mansoni, suggesting that these systems may be a promising platform for the administration of PZQ for treating schistosomiasis.

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for melanoma antitumoral therapy: a review

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Decision making in the product portfolio: methods adopted by Brazil?s innovative companies

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Development of albendazole sulfoxide-loaded Eudragit microparticles: A potential strategy to improve the drug bioavailability

Albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO), a broad spectrum anthelmintic drug extensively used in veterinary medicine, exhibits a low and erratic bioavailability due to its poor solubility in biological fluids. The aims of this study were the development, physicochemical characterization, and in vitro release profile evaluation of ABZSO-loaded Eudragit RS PO (R) microparticles (MPs) in order to improve the rate of dissolution and the dissolved percentage of the drug in pH 7.4. MPs were successfully obtained by the emulsification/solvent evaporation method, achieving entrapment efficiency and process yield of about 60% and mean size of 254 nm. The in vitro release profile study showed that dissolution of ABZSO followed a pseudo-second order kinetics and MPs were able to increase significantly (p < 0.05) the rate of dissolution of ABZSO compared to the micronized and non-micronized free drug, what could lead to an improvement in bioavailability and, consequently, in the antiparasitic activity. (C) 2011 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.