State-narco networks and the ‘War on Drugs’ in post-transition Bolivia, with special reference to 1989-1993

This thesis examines the development of state-narco networks in post-transition Bolivia. Mainstream discourses of drugs tend to undertheorise such relationships, holding illicit economies, weak states and violence as synergistic phenomena. Such assumptions fail to capture the nuanced relations that emerge between the state and the drug trade in different contexts, their underlying logics and diverse effects. As an understudied case, Bolivia offers novel insights into these dynamics. Bolivian military authoritarian governments (1964-1982), for example, integrated drug rents into clientelistic systems of governance, helping to establish factional coalitions and reinforce regime authority. Following democratic transition in 1982 and the escalation of US counterdrug efforts, these stable modes of exchange between the state and the coca-cocaine economy fragmented. Bolivia, though, continued to experience lower levels of drug-related violence than its Andean neighbours, and sustained democratisation despite being a major drug producer. Focusing on the introduction of the Andean Initiative (1989-1993), I explore state-narco interactions during this period of flux: from authoritarianism to (formal) democracy, and from Cold War to Drug War. As such, the thesis transcends the conventional analyses of the drugs literature and orthodox readings of Latin American narco-violence, providing insights into the relationship between illicit economies and democratic transition, the regional role of the US, and the (unintended) consequences of drug policy interventions. I utilise a mixed methods approach to offer discrete perspectives on the object of study. Drawing on documentary and secondary sources, I argue that state-narco networks were interwoven with Bolivia’s post-transition political settlement. Uneven democratisation ensured pockets of informalism, as clientelistic and authoritarian practices continued. This included police and military autonomy, and tolerance of drug corruption within both institutions. Non-enforcement of democratic norms of accountability and transparency was linked to the maintenance of fragile political equilibrium. Interviews with key US and Bolivian elite actors also revealed differing interpretations of state-narco interactions. These exposed competing agendas, and were folded into alternative paradigms and narratives of the ‘war on drugs’. The extension of US Drug War goals and the targeting of ‘corrupt’ local power structures, clashed with local ambivalence towards the drug trade, opposition to destabilising, ‘Colombianised’ policies and the claimed ‘democratising mission’ of the Bolivian government. In contrasting these US and Bolivian accounts, the thesis shows how real and perceived state-narco webs were understood and navigated by different actors in distinct ways. ‘Drug corruption’ held significance beyond simple economic transaction or institutional failure. Contestation around state-narco interactions was enmeshed in US-Bolivian relations of power and control.

Computer and laboratory simulation in the teaching of neonatal nursing: innovation and impact on learning

Objectives: to evaluate the cognitive learning of nursing students in neonatal clinical evaluation from a blended course with the use of computer and laboratory simulation; to compare the cognitive learning of students in a control and experimental group testing the laboratory simulation; and to assess the extracurricular blended course offered on the clinical assessment of preterm infants, according to the students. Method: a quasi-experimental study with 14 Portuguese students, containing pretest, midterm test and post-test. The technologies offered in the course were serious game e-Baby, instructional software of semiology and semiotechnique, and laboratory simulation. Data collection tools developed for this study were used for the course evaluation and characterization of the students. Nonparametric statistics were used: Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon. Results: the use of validated digital technologies and laboratory simulation demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p = 0.001) in the learning of the participants. The course was evaluated as very satisfactory for them. The laboratory simulation alone did not represent a significant difference in the learning. Conclusions: the cognitive learning of participants increased significantly. The use of technology can be partly responsible for the course success, showing it to be an important teaching tool for innovation and motivation of learning in healthcare.

Serverless middlewares to integrate heterogeneous and distributed services in cloud continuum environments

The application of modern ICT technologies is radically changing many fields pushing toward more open and dynamic value chains fostering the cooperation and integration of many connected partners, sensors, and devices. As a valuable example, the emerging Smart Tourism field derived from the application of ICT to Tourism so to create richer and more integrated experiences, making them more accessible and sustainable. From a technological viewpoint, a recurring challenge in these decentralized environments is the integration of heterogeneous services and data spanning multiple administrative domains, each possibly applying different security/privacy policies, device and process control mechanisms, service access, and provisioning schemes, etc. The distribution and heterogeneity of those sources exacerbate the complexity in the development of integrating solutions with consequent high effort and costs for partners seeking them. Taking a step towards addressing these issues, we propose APERTO, a decentralized and distributed architecture that aims at facilitating the blending of data and services. At its core, APERTO relies on APERTO FaaS, a Serverless platform allowing fast prototyping of the business logic, lowering the barrier of entry and development costs to newcomers, (zero) fine-grained scaling of resources servicing end-users, and reduced management overhead. APERTO FaaS infrastructure is based on asynchronous and transparent communications between the components of the architecture, allowing the development of optimized solutions that exploit the peculiarities of distributed and heterogeneous environments. In particular, APERTO addresses the provisioning of scalable and cost-efficient mechanisms targeting: i) function composition allowing the definition of complex workloads from simple, ready-to-use functions, enabling smarter management of complex tasks and improved multiplexing capabilities; ii) the creation of end-to-end differentiated QoS slices minimizing interfaces among application/service running on a shared infrastructure; i) an abstraction providing uniform and optimized access to heterogeneous data sources, iv) a decentralized approach for the verification of access rights to resources.

[strategies For Integration Of Health Care Practices And Sanitary Surveillance In The Context Of The Implementation Of Rede Cegonha - A Brazilian Mother And Infant Health Care Network].

Mother and infant mortality has been the scope of analysis throughout the history of public health in Brazil and various strategies to tackle the issue have been proposed to date. The Ministry of Health has been working on this and the Rede Cegonha strategy is the most recent policy in this context. Given the principle of comprehensive health care and the structure of the Unified Health System in care networks, it is necessary to ensure the integration of health care practices, among which are the sanitary surveillance actions (SSA). Considering that the integration of health care practices and SSA can contribute to reduce mother and infant mortality rates, this article is a result of qualitative research that analyzed the integration of these actions in four cities in the State of São Paulo/Brazil: Campinas, Indaiatuba, Jaguariúna and Santa Bárbara D'Oeste. The research was conducted through interviews with SSA and maternal health managers, and the data were evaluated using thematic analysis. The results converge with other studies, identifying the isolation of health care practices and SSA. The insertion of SSA in collectively-managed areas appears to be a potential strategy for health planning and implementation of actions in the context under scrutiny.

In Vitro Effects Of Hydrogen Peroxide Combined With Different Activators For The In-office Bleaching Technique On Enamel.

Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the alteration of human enamel bleached with high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide associated with different activators. Materials and methods. Fifty enamel/dentin blocks (4 × 4 mm) were obtained from human third molars and randomized divided according to the bleaching procedure (n = 10): G1 = 35% hydrogen peroxide (HP - Whiteness HP Maxx); G2 = HP + Halogen lamp (HL); G3 = HP + 7% sodium bicarbonate (SB); G4 = HP + 20% sodium hydroxide (SH); and G5 = 38% hydrogen peroxide (OXB - Opalescence Xtra Boost). The bleaching treatments were performed in three sessions with a 7-day interval between them. The enamel content, before (baseline) and after bleaching, was determined using an FT-Raman spectrometer and was based on the concentration of phosphate, carbonate, and organic matrix. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA for repeated measures and Tukey's test. Results. The results showed no significant differences between time of analysis (p = 0.5175) for most treatments and peak areas analyzed; and among bleaching treatments (p = 0.4184). The comparisons during and after bleaching revealed a significant difference in the HP group for the peak areas of carbonate and organic matrix, and for the organic matrix in OXB and HP+SH groups. Tukey's analysis determined that the difference, peak areas, and the interaction among treatment, time and peak was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion. The association of activators with hydrogen peroxide was effective in the alteration of enamel, mainly with regards to the organic matrix.

Chronic Continuous Exenatide Infusion Does Not Cause Pancreatic Inflammation And Ductal Hyperplasia In Non-human Primates.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of exenatide (EXE) treatment on exocrine pancreas of nonhuman primates. To this end, 52 baboons (Papio hamadryas) underwent partial pancreatectomy, followed by continuous infusion of EXE or saline (SAL) for 14 weeks. Histological analysis, immunohistochemistry, Computer Assisted Stereology Toolbox morphometry, and immunofluorescence staining were performed at baseline and after treatment. The EXE treatment did not induce pancreatitis, parenchymal or periductal inflammatory cell accumulation, ductal hyperplasia, or dysplastic lesions/pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia. At study end, Ki-67-positive (proliferating) acinar cell number did not change, compared with baseline, in either group. Ki-67-positive ductal cells increased after EXE treatment (P = 0.04). However, the change in Ki-67-positive ductal cell number did not differ significantly between the EXE and SAL groups (P = 0.13). M-30-positive (apoptotic) acinar and ductal cell number did not change after SAL or EXE treatment. No changes in ductal density and volume were observed after EXE or SAL. Interestingly, by triple-immunofluorescence staining, we detected c-kit (a marker of cell transdifferentiation) positive ductal cells co-expressing insulin in ducts only in the EXE group at study end, suggesting that EXE may promote the differentiation of ductal cells toward a β-cell phenotype. In conclusion, 14 weeks of EXE treatment did not exert any negative effect on exocrine pancreas, by inducing either pancreatic inflammation or hyperplasia/dysplasia in nonhuman primates.

Dental caries and related factors in Brazilian children from fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas

PURPOSE: To compare the caries prevalence, saliva buffering capacity (SBC), oral hygiene (OH), dietary habits, family income (FI) and frequency of visits to a dental office (Do) between Brazilian children living in areas with and without fluoridated public water supply. METHODS: Forty-six 5-7-year-old preschoolers were selected in Itatiba, SP, Brazil; 19 were from a fluoridated area, and 27 were from a non-fluoridated area. The caries index was determined according to the World Health Organization criteria, and the SBC was assessed by titration with hydrochloric acid. The FI, frequency of OH and visits to Do were estimated by questionnaire. The dietary habits were assessed with a diet chart. The differences between the groups were analyzed with Mann-Whitney-U tests (α=0.05). RESULTS: Children from the non-fluoridated area showed significantly higher dmft/DMFT than those from the fluoridated area, but they showed significantly lower SBC, OH frequency and FI. No significant differences were observed between the areas for dietary habits and visits to Do. CONCLUSION: Children from fluoridated areas showed higher salivary buffering capacity, family income and oral hygiene frequency as well as lower caries prevalence, supporting the beneficial effect of fluoride in the tap water for caries prevention.

Differential regulation of PGC-1 alpha expression in rat liver and skeletal muscle in response to voluntary running

Background: The beneficial actions of exercise training on lipid, glucose and energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity appear to be in part mediated by PGC-1 alpha. Previous studies have shown that spontaneously exercised rats show at rest enhanced responsiveness to exogenous insulin, lower plasma insulin levels and increased skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. This study was initiated to examine the functional interaction between exercise-induced modulation of skeletal muscle and liver PGC-1 alpha protein expression, whole body insulin sensitivity, and circulating FFA levels as a measure of whole body fatty acid (lipid) metabolism. Methods: Two groups of male Wistar rats (2 Mo of age, 188.82 +/- 2.77 g BW) were used in this study. One group consisted of control rats placed in standard laboratory cages. Exercising rats were housed individually in cages equipped with running wheels and allowed to run at their own pace for 5 weeks. At the end of exercise training, insulin sensitivity was evaluated by comparing steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentrations at constant plasma insulin levels attained during the continuous infusion of glucose and insulin to each experimental group. Subsequently, soleus and plantaris muscle and liver samples were collected and quantified for PGC-1 alpha protein expression by Western blotting. Collected blood samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin and FFA concentrations. Results: Rats housed in the exercise wheel cages demonstrated almost linear increases in running activity with advancing time reaching to maximum value around 4 weeks. On an average, the rats ran a mean (Mean +/- SE) of 4.102 +/- 0.747 km/day and consumed significantly more food as compared to sedentary controls (P < 0.001) in order to meet their increased caloric requirement. Mean plasma insulin (P < 0.001) and FFA (P < 0.006) concentrations were lower in the exercise-trained rats as compared to sedentary controls. Mean steady state plasma insulin (SSPI) and glucose (SSPG) concentrations were not significantly different in sedentary control rats as compared to exercise-trained animals. Plantaris PGC-1 alpha protein expression increased significantly from a 1.11 +/- 0.12 in the sedentary rats to 1.74 +/- 0.09 in exercising rats (P < 0.001). However, exercise had no effect on PGC-1 alpha protein content in either soleus muscle or liver tissue. These results indicate that exercise training selectively up regulates the PGC-1 alpha protein expression in high-oxidative fast skeletal muscle type such as plantaris muscle. Conclusion: These data suggest that PGC-1 alpha most likely plays a restricted role in exercise-mediated improvements in insulin resistance (sensitivity) and lowering of circulating FFA levels.

Cold Nuclear Matter Effects on J/psi Yields as a Function of Rapidity and Nuclear Geometry in d plus A Collisions at root S(NN)=200 GeV

We present measurements of J/psi yields in d + Au collisions at root S(NN) = 200 GeV recorded by the PHENIX experiment and compare them with yields in p + p collisions at the same energy per nucleon-nucleon collision. The measurements cover a large kinematic range in J/psi rapidity (-2.2 < y < 2.4) with high statistical precision and are compared with two theoretical models: one with nuclear shadowing combined with final state breakup and one with coherent gluon saturation effects. In order to remove model dependent systematic uncertainties we also compare the data to a simple geometric model. The forward rapidity data are inconsistent with nuclear modifications that are linear or exponential in the density weighted longitudinal thickness, such as those from the final state breakup of the bound state.

Identified particle production, azimuthal anisotropy, and interferometry measurements in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=9.2 GeV

We present the first measurements of identified hadron production, azimuthal anisotropy, and pion interferometry from Au + Au collisions below the nominal injection energy at the BNL Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) facility. The data were collected using the large acceptance solenoidal tracker at RHIC (STAR) detector at root s(NN) = 9.2 GeV from a test run of the collider in the year 2008. Midrapidity results on multiplicity density dN/dy in rapidity y, average transverse momentum < p(T)>, particle ratios, elliptic flow, and Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) radii are consistent with the corresponding results at similar root s(NN) from fixed-target experiments. Directed flow measurements are presented for both midrapidity and forward-rapidity regions. Furthermore the collision centrality dependence of identified particle dN/dy, < p(T)>, and particle ratios are discussed. These results also demonstrate that the capabilities of the STAR detector, although optimized for root s(NN) = 200 GeV, are suitable for the proposed QCD critical-point search and exploration of the QCD phase diagram at RHIC.

Intermolecular vibrations and fast relaxations in supercooled ionic liquids

Short-time dynamics of ionic liquids has been investigated by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy (4 < omega < 100 cm(-1)) within the supercooled liquid range. Raman spectra are reported for ionic liquids with the same anion, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, and different cations: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-butyl-1-methylpiperidinium, trimethylbutylammonium, and tributylmethylammonium. It is shown that low-frequency Raman spectroscopy provides similar results as optical Kerr effect (OKE) spectroscopy, which has been used to study intermolecular vibrations in ionic liquids. The comparison of ionic liquids containing aromatic and non-aromatic cations identifies the characteristic feature in Raman spectra usually assigned to librational motion of the imidazolium ring. The strength of the fast relaxations (quasi-elastic scattering, QES) and the intermolecular vibrational contribution (boson peak) of ionic liquids with non-aromatic cations are significantly lower than imidazolium ionic liquids. A correlation length assigned to the boson peak vibrations was estimated from the frequency of the maximum of the boson peak and experimental data of sound velocity. The correlation length related to the boson peak (similar to 19 angstrom) does not change with the length of the alkyl chain in imidazolium cations, in contrast to the position of the first-sharp diffraction peak observed in neutron and X-ray scattering measurements of ionic liquids. The rate of change of the QES intensity in the supercooled liquid range is compared with data of excess entropy, free volume, and mean-squared displacement recently reported for ionic liquids. The temperature dependence of the QES intensity in ionic liquids illustrates relationships between short-time dynamics and long-time structural relaxation that have been proposed for glass-forming liquids. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3604533]

Continuous opinions and discrete actions in opinion dynamics problems

A model where agents show discrete behavior regarding their actions, but have continuous opinions that are updated by interacting with other agents is presented. This new updating rule is applied to both the voter and Sznajd models for interaction between neighbors, and its consequences are discussed. The appearance of extremists is naturally observed and it seems to be a characteristic of this model.

Post-processing and visualization techniques in 2D boundary element analysis

Most post-processors for boundary element (BE) analysis use an auxiliary domain mesh to display domain results, working against the profitable modelling process of a pure boundary discretization. This paper introduces a novel visualization technique which preserves the basic properties of the boundary element methods. The proposed algorithm does not require any domain discretization and is based on the direct and automatic identification of isolines. Another critical aspect of the visualization of domain results in BE analysis is the effort required to evaluate results in interior points. In order to tackle this issue, the present article also provides a comparison between the performance of two different BE formulations (conventional and hybrid). In addition, this paper presents an overview of the most common post-processing and visualization techniques in BE analysis, such as the classical algorithms of scan line and the interpolation over a domain discretization. The results presented herein show that the proposed algorithm offers a very high performance compared with other visualization procedures.

Layout and material gradation in topology optimization of functionally graded structures: a global-local approach

By means of continuous topology optimization, this paper discusses the influence of material gradation and layout in the overall stiffness behavior of functionally graded structures. The formulation is associated to symmetry and pattern repetition constraints, including material gradation effects at both global and local levels. For instance, constraints associated with pattern repetition are applied by considering material gradation either on the global structure or locally over the specific pattern. By means of pattern repetition, we recover previous results in the literature which were obtained using homogenization and optimization of cellular materials.

Photosynthesis, Chlorophylls, and SPAD Readings in Coffee Leaves in Relation to Nitrogen Supply

The export of nitrogen (N) from senescent plant parts is important for the efficient use of this macronutrient. The objective of this study was to establish correlations among the photosynthetic pigment content, total N, and the photosynthetic variables with the SPAD-502 readings in Coffea arabica leaves. Correlations were established among the chlorophyll content, N content, and chlorophyll a and b with SPAD-502 readings taken on coffee leaves at different months. The results show that all variables decreased with time. However, correlation increased linearly with N doses. Total chlorophyll presented a direct linear correlation with readings of the portable chlorophyll meter. The SPAD readings have shown to be a good tool to diagnose the integrity of the photosynthetic system in coffee leaves. Thus, the portable chlorophyll SPAD-502 instrument can be used to evaluate the N status and can also help to evaluate the photosynthetic process in coffee plants.