Spatial intra-annual variability of precipitation based on geostatistics. a case study for the Paraiba do Sul Basin, southeastern Brazil

The emphasis in this research is to evaluate the spatial distribution of the precipitation using a geostatistics approach. Seasonal time scales records considering DJF, MAM, JJA e SON periods performed the analysis. Procedures to evaluate the variogram selection and to produce kriging maps were performed in a GIS environment (ArcGIS®). The results showed that kriging method was very suitable to detect both large changes in the whole area as those local small and subtle changes. Kriging demonstrated be a powerful statistical interpolation method that might be very useful in regions with great complexity in climatology and geomorphology.

DRIVING AND RESTRICTIVE FACTORS IN THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE CREATION: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY IN BRAZILIAN TECHNOLOGY-BASED ENTERPRISES

The article aims to analyze the process of knowledge creation in Brazilian technology-based companies, using as a background the driving and restrictive factors found in this process. As the pillars of discussion, four main modes of knowledge conversion were used, according to the Japanese model: socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. The comparative case method through qualitative research was carried out in nine technology-based enterprises that had been incubated or have recently passed through the stage of incubation (so-called graduated companies) in the Technology Park of Sao Carlos, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Among the main results, the combination of knowledge was identified as more conscious and structured in graduated companies, in relation to incubated companies. In contrast, it was noted that incubated companies have an environment with greater opportunities for socialization, internalization and externalization of knowledge.

Information-dependent processes in incubated and graduated technology-based companies: a comparative case study

Nowadays, competitiveness introduces new behaviors and leads companies to a discomforting situation and often to non adaptation to environmental requirements. A growing number of challenges associated with control of information in organizations with engineering activities can be seen, particularly, the growing amount of information subject to continuous changes. The innovative performance of an organization is directly proportional to its ability to manage information. Thus, the importance of information management is recognized by the search for more competent ways to face current demands. The purpose of this article was to analyze informationdependent processes in technology-based companies, through the four major stages of information management. The comparative method of cases and qualitative research were used. The research was conducted in nine technology-based companies which were incubated or recently went through the incubating process at the Technological Park of Sao Carlos, in the state of Sao Paulo. Among the main results, it was found that in graduated companies information management and its procedures were identified as more conscious and structured in contrast to those of the incubated companies.

The need of a weight management control program in judo: a proposal based on the successful case of wrestling

Judo competitions are divided into weight classes. However, most athletes reduce their body weight in a few days before competition in order to obtain a competitive advantage over lighter opponents. To achieve fast weight reduction, athletes use a number of aggressive nutritional strategies so many of them place themselves at a high health-injury risk. In collegiate wrestling, a similar problem has been observed and three wrestlers died in 1997 due to rapid weight loss regimes. After these deaths, the National Collegiate Athletic Association had implemented a successful weight management program which was proven to improve weight management behavior. No similar program has ever been discussed by judo federations even though judo competitors present a comparable inappropriate pattern of weight control. In view of this, the basis for a weight control program is provided in this manuscript, as follows: competition should begin within 1 hour after weigh-in, at the latest; each athlete is allowed to be weighed-in only once; rapid weight loss as well as artificial rehydration (i.e., saline infusion) methods are prohibited during the entire competition day; athletes should pass the hydration test to get their weigh-in validated; an individual minimum competitive weight (male athletes competing at no less than 7% and females at no less than 12% of body fat) should be determined at the beginning of each season; athletes are not allowed to compete in any weight class that requires weight reductions greater than 1.5% of body weight per week. In parallel, educational programs should aim at increasing the athletes', coaches' and parents' awareness about the risks of aggressive nutritional strategies as well as healthier ways to properly manage body weight.

Complex organochlorine pesticide mixtures as determinant factor for breast cancer risk: a population-based case-control study in the Canary Islands (Spain)

[EN] Background: All the relevant risk factors contributing to breast cancer etiology are not fully known. Exposure to organochlorine pesticides has been linked to an increased incidence of the disease, although not all data have been consistent. Most published studies evaluated the exposure to organochlorines individually, ignoring the potential effects exerted by the mixtures of chemicals. Methods: This population-based study was designed to evaluate the profile of mixtures of organochlorines detected in 103 healthy women and 121 women diagnosed with breast cancer from Gran Canaria Island, and the relation between the exposure to these compounds and breast cancer risk.Results: The most prevalent mixture of organochlorines among healthy women was the combination of lindane and endrin, and this mixture was not detected in any affected women. Breast cancer patients presented more frequently a combination of aldrin, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), and this mixture was not found in any healthy woman. After adjusting for covariables, the risk of breast cancer was moderately associated with DDD (OR = 1.008, confidence interval 95% 1.001-1.015, p = 0.024).Conclusions: This study indicates that healthy women show a very different profile of organochlorine pesticide mixtures than breast cancer patients, suggesting that organochlorine pesticide mixtures could play a relevant role in breast cancer risk.

Ni una más. International cooperation against gender-based discrimination: the femicide case in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico

The femicide in Ciudad Juárez is a story made of extreme violence against women for different reasons, by different actors, under different circumstances, and following different behavioural patterns. All within a gender discrimination frame based on the idea that women are inferior, interchangeable and disposable according to the patriarchal hierarchy still present in Mexico, but strongly reinforced by a sort of conspiracy of silence provoked either by the high impunity rate, the governmental incompetence to solve the crimes, or the general indifference of the population. It is the story of hundreds of kidnapped, raped, in many cases tortured, and murdered young women in the border between Mexico and the United States. The murders first came into light in 1993 and up to now young women continue to “disappear” without any hope of bringing the perpetrators to justice, stopping impunity, convicting the assassins, and bringing justice to the families of the deceased girls and women. The main questions about femicide in Ciudad Juárez seem to be: why were they brutally assassinated?, why most of the crimes have not been solved yet?, why and how is Ciudad Juárez different from other border cities with the same characteristics?, which powers are behind those crimes in a city that implies mainly women as its labor force, and which has the lowest unemployment rate in the whole country? But there are also many other questions dealing more with the context, the Juarences’ lifestyles, the eventual hidden powers behind the crimes, the possible murderers’ reasons, the response of the local civil society, or the international community actions to fight against femicide there, among many other things, that are still waiting for an answer and that this paper will ‘narrate’ in order to provide a holistic panorama for the readers. But above all there is the need to remember that every single woman or girl assassinated there had a name, an identity, a family, a story to be told time after time and as many times as necessary, in order to avoid accepting these crimes just as statistics, as cold numbers that might make us forget the human tragedy that has been flagellating the city since 1993. We must remember as well that their deaths express gender oppression, the inequality of the relations between what is male and what is female, a manifestation of domination, terror, social extermination, patriarchal hegemony, social class and impunity. The city is the perfect mirror where all the contradictions of globalization get reflected. It is there where all the globalization evils are present and survive by sucking their women’s blood. It is a city where some concepts such as gender, migration and power are closely related with a negative connotation.

Evidence-based polytherapies and long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction in very old subjects compared with elderly and adults: a nested case-control study

Background: Clinical trials have demonstrated that selected secondary prevention medications for patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) reduce mortality. Yet, these medications are generally underprescribed in daily practice, and older people are often absent from drug trials. Objectives: To examine the relationship between adherence to evidence-based (EB) drugs and post-AMI mortality, focusing on the effects of single therapy and polytherapy in very old patients (≥80 years) compared with elderly and adults (<80 years). Methods: Patients hospitalised for AMI between 01/01/2008 and 30/06/2011 and resident in the Local Health Authority of Bologna were followed up until 31/12/2011. Medication adherence was calculated as the proportion of days covered for filled prescriptions of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), β-blockers, antiplatelet drugs, and statins. We adopted a risk set sampling method, and the adjusted relationship between medication adherence (PDC≥75%) and mortality was investigated using conditional multiple logistic regression. Results: The study population comprised 4861 patients. During a median follow-up of 2.8 years, 1116 deaths (23.0%) were observed. Adherence to the 4 EB drugs was 7.1%, while nonadherence to any of the drugs was 19.7%. For both patients aged ≥80 years and those aged <80 years, rate ratios of death linearly decreased as the number of EB drugs taken increased. There was a significant inverse relationship between adherence to each of 4 medications and mortality, although its magnitude was higher for ACEIs/ARBs (adj. rate ratio=0.60, 95%CI=0.52–0.69) and statins (0.60, 0.50–0.72), and lower for β-blockers (0.75, 0.61–0.92) and antiplatelet drugs (0.73, 0.63–0.84). Conclusions: The beneficial effect of EB polytherapy on long-term mortality following AMI is evident also in nontrial older populations. Given that adherence to combination therapies is largely suboptimal, the implementation of strategies and initiatives to increase the use of post-AMI secondary preventive medications in old patients is crucial.

Family characteristics as risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a population-based case-control study

To date, few risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have been confirmed and the scientific literature is full of controversial "evidence." We examined if family characteristics, particularly maternal and paternal age and number of older siblings, were risk factors for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Heart failure events, and case fatalities in Switzerland based on hospital statistics and cause of death statistics

In Switzerland there is a shortage of population-based information on heart failure (HF) incidence and case fatalities (CF). The aim of this study was to estimate HF event rates and both in- and out-of-hospital CF rates.

Stroke events, and case fatalities in Switzerland based on hospital statistics and cause of death statistics

OBJECTIVE: In Switzerland there is a shortage of population-based information on stroke incidence and case fatalities (CF). The aim of this study was to estimate stroke event rates and both in- and out-of-hospital CF rates. METHODS: Data on stroke diagnoses, coded according to I60-I64 (ICD 10), were taken from the Federal Hospital Discharge Statistics database (HOST) and the Cause of Death database (CoD) for the year 2004. The number of total stroke events and of age- and gender-specific and agestandardised event rates were estimated; overall CF, in-hospital and out-of-hospital, were determined. RESULTS: Among the overall number of 13 996 hospital discharges from stroke (HOST) the number was lower in women (n = 6736) than in men (n = 7260). A total of 3568 deaths (2137 women and 1431 men) due to stroke were recorded in the CoD database. The number of estimated stroke events was 15 733, and higher in women (n = 7933) than in men (n = 7800). Men presented significantly higher age-specific stroke event rates and a higher age-standardised event rate (178.7/100 000 versus 119.7/100 000). Overall CF rates were significantly higher for women (26.9%) than for men (18.4%). The same was true of out-of-hospital CF but not of in-hospital CF rates. CONCLUSION: The data on estimated stroke events obtained indicate that stroke discharge rate underestimates the stroke event rate. Out-of-hospital deaths from stroke accounted for the largest proportion of total stroke deaths. Sex differences in both number of total stroke events and deaths could be explained by the higher proportion of women than men aged 55+ in the Swiss population.