Studies on mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and anthropic environment: 8- Survey of adult behaviour of Spissipes Section species of Culex (Melanoconion) in South-Eastern Brazil

A study of Spissipes Section of Culex (Melanoconion) adults behaviour was carried out from August 1992 through December 1993 in human dominated (anthropic) environment in the Ribeira Valley, S.Paulo State, Brazil. By sampling at several sites it the dominance of Culex ribeirensis and Cx. sacchettae became evident even through a total number of ten species was recorded. Those two mosquitoes showed a clear tendency to frequent the domiciliary environment where they were caught, both indoor and outdoor, through the use of the human bait. In the outside environments, the residual patchy forests seems to display a concentration role, from which these adults spread to the open land and reach the dwellings. As their vector competence has been demonstrated through the virus isolations in natural conditions, it is advisable to pay attention to the presence of these mosquitoes in the man-made environment.

Studies on mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and anthropic environment: 10- survey of adult behaviour of Culex nigripalpus and other species of Culex (Culex) in South-Eastern Brazil

A survey of adult behaviour of Culex (Culex) species was carried out from August 1992 through December 1993 in a human modified (anthropic) environment in the Ribeira Valley, S.Paulo State, Brazil. Culex nigripalpus dominated the catches at several sites and it's tendency to increase in the anthropic environment became quite clear. Nevertheless no high level of synanthropy was demonstrated. So it seems that the mosquito may have a restricted role in natural arbovirus cycles. Nonetheless, Cx. nigripalpus must be considered a potential vector of arboviruses, especially St. Louis encephalitis virus outside dwellings.

The use of wide-mesh gauze impregnated with lambda-cyhalothrin covering wall openings in huts as a vector control method in Suriname

An alternative vector control method, using lambda-cyhalothrin impregnated wide-mesh gauze covering openings in the walls of the houses was developed in an area in the Eastern part of the interior of Suriname. Experimental hut observations showed that Anopheles darlingi greatly reduced their biting activity (99-100%) during the first 5 months after impregnation. A model assay showed high mortality both of mosquitoes repelled by the gauze as well as of those that succeeded in getting through it. A field application test in 270 huts showed good acceptance by the population and good durability of the applied gauze. After introducing the method in the entire working area, replacing DDT residual housespraying, the malaria prevalence, of 25-37% before application dropped and stabilized at between 5 and 10% within one year. The operational costs were less than those of the previously used DDT housespraying program, due to a 50% reduction in the cost of materials used. The method using widemesh gauze impregnated with lambdacyhalothrin strongly affects the behavior of An. darlingi. It is important to examine the effect of the method on malaria transmission further, since data indirectly obtained suggest substantial positive results.

Nonlinear optimization method for short-term hydro scheduling considering head-dependency

This paper is on the problem of short-term hydro scheduling, particularly concerning head-dependent reservoirs under competitive environment. We propose a new nonlinear optimization method to consider hydroelectric power generation as a function of water discharge and also of the head. Head-dependency is considered on short-term hydro scheduling in order to obtain more realistic and feasible results. The proposed method has been applied successfully to solve a case study based on one of the main Portuguese cascaded hydro systems, providing a higher profit at a negligible additional computation time in comparison with a linear optimization method that ignores head-dependency.

A method to analyse the alignment of core values in collaborative networked organisations

Since collaborative networked organisations are usually formed by independent and heterogeneous entities, it is natural that each member holds his own set of values, and that conflicts among partners might emerge because of some misalignment of values. In contrast, it is often stated in literature that the alignment between the value systems of members involved in collaborative processes is a prerequisite for successful co-working. As a result, the issue of core value alignment in collaborative networks started to attract attention. However, methods to analyse such alignment are lacking mainly because the concept of 'alignment' in this context is still ill defined and shows a multifaceted nature. As a contribution to the area, this article introduces an approach based on causal models and graph theory for the analysis of core value alignment in collaborative networks. The potential application of the approach is then discussed in the virtual organisations' breeding environment context.

Two-year follow-up study of elderly residents in S. Paulo, Brazil: methodology and preliminary results

INTRODUCTION: Previous cross-sectional studies have shown a high prevalence of chronic disease and disability among the elderly. Given Brazil’s rapid aging process and the obvious consequences of the growing number of old people with chronic diseases and associated disabilities for the provision of health services, a need was felt for a study that would overcome the limitations of cross-sectional data and shed some light on the main factors determining whether a person will live longer and free of disabling diseases, the so-called successful aging. The methodology of the first follow-up study of elderly residents in Brazil is presented. METHOD: The profile of the initial cohort is compared with previous cross-sectional data and an in-depth analysis of nonresponse is carried out in order to assess the validity of future longitudinal analysis. The EPIDOSO (‘Epidemiologia do Idoso’) Study conducted a two-year follow-up of 1,667 elderly people (65+), living in S. Paulo. The study consisted of two waves, each consisting of household, clinical, and biochemical surveys. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In general, the initial cohort showed a similar profile to previous cross-sectional samples in S. Paulo. There was a majority of women, mostly widows, living in multigenerational households, and a high prevalence of chronic illnesses, psychiatric disturbances, and physical disabilities. Despite all the difficulties inherent in follow-up studies, there was a fairly low rate of nonresponse to the household survey after two years, which did not actually affect the representation of the cohort at the final household assessment, making unbiased longitudinal analysis possible. Concerning the clinical and blood sampling surveys, the respondents tended to be younger and less disabled than the nonrespondents, limiting the use of the clinical and laboratory data to longitudinal analysis aimed at a healthier cohort. It is worth mentioning that gender, education, family support, and socioeconomic status were not important determinants of nonresponse, as is often the case.

The role of discriminant analysis in the refinement of customer satisfaction assessment

OBJECTIVE: To test discriminant analysis as a method of turning the information of a routine customer satisfaction survey (CSS) into a more accurate decision-making tool. METHODS: A 7-question, 10-multiple choice, self-applied questionnaire was used to study a sample of patients seen in two outpatient care units in Valparaíso, Chile, one of primary care (n=100) and the other of secondary care (n=249). Two cutting points were considered in the dependent variable (final satisfaction score): satisfied versus unsatisfied, and very satisfied versus all others. Results were compared with empirical measures (proportion of satisfied individuals, proportion of unsatisfied individuals and size of the median). RESULTS: The response rate was very high, over 97.0% in both units. A new variable, medical attention, was revealed, as explaining satisfaction at the primary care unit. The proportion of the total variability explained by the model was very high (over 99.4%) in both units, when comparing satisfied with unsatisfied customers. In the analysis of very satisfied versus all other customers, significant relationship was identified only in the case of the primary care unit, which explained a small proportion of the variability (41.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Discriminant analysis identified relationships not revealed by the previous analysis. It provided information about the proportion of the variability explained by the model. It identified non-significant relationships suggested by empirical analysis (e.g. the case of the relation very satisfied versus others in the secondary care unit). It measured the contribution of each independent variable to the explanation of the variation of the dependent one.

Web survey system to discover the actual role of experience in learning in higher education: a case study

March 19 - 22, 2006, São Paulo, BRAZIL World Congress on Computer Science, Engineering and Technology Education

Probabilistic linkage in household survey on hospital care usage

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential advantages and limitations of the use of the Brazilian hospital admission authorization forms database and the probabilistic record linkage methodology for the validation of reported utilization of hospital care services in household surveys. METHODS: A total of 2,288 households interviews were conducted in the county of Duque de Caxias, Brazil. Information on the occurrence of at least one hospital admission in the year preceding the interview was obtained from a total of 10,733 household members. The 130 records of household members who reported at least one hospital admission in a public hospital were linked to a hospital database with 801,587 records, using an automatic probabilistic approach combined with an extensive clerical review. RESULTS: Seventy-four (57%) of the 130 household members were identified in the hospital database. Yet only 60 subjects (46%) showed a record of hospitalization in the hospital database in the study period. Hospital admissions due to a surgery procedure were significantly more likely to have been identified in the hospital database. The low level of concordance seen in the study can be explained by the following factors: errors in the linkage process; a telescoping effect; and an incomplete record in the hospital database. CONCLUSIONS: The use of hospital administrative databases and probabilistic linkage methodology may represent a methodological alternative for the validation of reported utilization of health care services, but some strategies should be employed in order to minimize the problems related to the use of this methodology in non-ideal conditions. Ideally, a single identifier, such as a personal health insurance number, and the universal coverage of the database would be desirable.

O empreendedorismo como fator dinamizador da competitividade regional: o papel do financiamento

Dissertação de Mestrado em Finanças Empresariais

Peer Instruction method in introductory math courses

Learning is not a spectator’s sport. Students do not learn much by just sitting in class listening their teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments and spitting out answers. The teaching-learning process has been a constant target of studies, particularly in Higher Education, in consequence of the annual increase of new students. The concern with maintaining a desired quality level in the training of these students, conjugated with the will to widen the access to all of those who finish Secondary School Education, has triggered a greater intervention from the education specialists, in partnership with the teachers of all Higher Education areas, in the analysis of this problem. Considering the particular case of Engineering, it has been witnessed a rising concern with the active learning strategies and forms of assessment. Research has demonstrated that students learn more if they are actively engaged with the material they are studying. In this presentation we describe, present and discuss the techniques and the results of Peer Instruction method in an introductory Calculus courses of an Engineering Bach

Matrix Converter-Based Unified Power-Flow Controllers: Advanced Direct Power Control Method

This paper presents a direct power control (DPC) for three-phase matrix converters operating as unified power flow controllers (UPFCs). Matrix converters (MCs) allow the direct ac/ac power conversion without dc energy storage links; therefore, the MC-based UPFC (MC-UPFC) has reduced volume and cost, reduced capacitor power losses, together with higher reliability. Theoretical principles of direct power control (DPC) based on sliding mode control techniques are established for an MC-UPFC dynamic model including the input filter. As a result, line active and reactive power, together with ac supply reactive power, can be directly controlled by selecting an appropriate matrix converter switching state guaranteeing good steady-state and dynamic responses. Experimental results of DPC controllers for MC-UPFC show decoupled active and reactive power control, zero steady-state tracking error, and fast response times. Compared to an MC-UPFC using active and reactive power linear controllers based on a modified Venturini high-frequency PWM modulator, the experimental results of the advanced DPC-MC guarantee faster responses without overshoot and no steady-state error, presenting no cross-coupling in dynamic and steady-state responses.

Scheduling maintenance activities of electric power transmission networks using an hybrid constraint method

In this paper we present a Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) based model, and hybrid solving method for the Scheduling of Maintenance Activities in the Power Transmission Network. The model distinguishes from others not only because of its completeness but also by the way it models and solves the Electric Constraints. Specifically we present a efficient filtering algorithm for the Electrical Constraints. Furthermore, the solving method improves the pure CLP methods efficiency by integrating a type of Local Search technique with CLP. To test the approach we compare the method results with another method using a 24 bus network, which considerers 42 tasks and 24 maintenance periods.

An efficient method for optimal location and sizing of fixed and switched shunt capacitors in large distribution systems

This paper proposes a computationally efficient methodology for the optimal location and sizing of static and switched shunt capacitors in large distribution systems. The problem is formulated as the maximization of the savings produced by the reduction in energy losses and the avoided costs due to investment deferral in the expansion of the network. The proposed method selects the nodes to be compensated, as well as the optimal capacitor ratings and their operational characteristics, i.e. fixed or switched. After an appropriate linearization, the optimization problem was formulated as a large-scale mixed-integer linear problem, suitable for being solved by means of a widespread commercial package. Results of the proposed optimizing method are compared with another recent methodology reported in the literature using two test cases: a 15-bus and a 33-bus distribution network. For the both cases tested, the proposed methodology delivers better solutions indicated by higher loss savings, which are achieved with lower amounts of capacitive compensation. The proposed method has also been applied for compensating to an actual large distribution network served by AES-Venezuela in the metropolitan area of Caracas. A convergence time of about 4 seconds after 22298 iterations demonstrates the ability of the proposed methodology for efficiently handling large-scale compensation problems.

Research on using the decision tree method in order to select the best alternative for the pharmacies supply

Introduction / Aims: Adopting the important decisions represents a specific task of the manager. An efficient manager takes these decisions during a sistematic process with well-defined elements, each with a precise order. In the pharmaceutical practice and business, in the supply process of the pharmacies, there are situations when the medicine distributors offer a certain discount, but require payment in a shorter period of time. In these cases, the analysis of the offer can be made with the help of the decision tree method, which permits identifying the decision offering the best possible result in a given situation. The aims of the research have been the analysis of the product offers of many different suppliers and the establishing of the most advantageous ways of pharmacy supplying. Material / Methods: There have been studied the general product offers of the following medical stores: A&G Med, Farmanord, Farmexim, Mediplus, Montero and Relad. In the case of medicine offers including a discount, the decision tree method has been applied in order to select the most advantageous offers. The Decision Tree is a management method used in taking the right decisions and it is generally used when one needs to evaluate the decisions that involve a series of stages. The tree diagram is used in order to look for the most efficient means to attain a specific goal. The decision trees are the most probabilistic methods, useful when adopting risk taking decisions. Results: The results of the analysis on the tree diagrams have indicated the fact that purchasing medicines with discount (1%, 10%, 15%) and payment in a shorter time interval (120 days) is more profitable than purchasing without a discount and payment in a longer time interval (160 days). Discussion / Conclusion: Depending on the results of the tree diagram analysis, the pharmacies would purchase from the selected suppliers. The research has shown that the decision tree method represents a valuable work instrument in choosing the best ways for supplying pharmacies and it is very useful to the specialists from the pharmaceutical field, pharmaceutical management, to medicine suppliers, pharmacy practitioners from the community pharmacies and especially to pharmacy managers, chief – pharmacists.