New Generation Antidepressants in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

The incidence of diabetic neuropathy increases with the duration of diabetes and the degree of hyperglycaemia. Pain is one of the most common and incapacitating symptoms of diabetic neuropathy and its pharmacological control is complex. The effectiveness of antidepressive agents has been described in different types of neuropathic pain, but their effectiveness, when used as analgesics in painful diabetic neuropathy, still remains controversial. Objective: To review the possible role of new-generation antidepressive agents in the treatment of pain in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This work has thus consisted of a meta-analysis for determining which antidepressive agent had the best analgesic potential in managing pain in patients suffering from painful diabetic neuropathy. Methods: This search covered the Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE and LILACS databases, between January 2000 and August 2007. The following information was obtained from each article: criteria for diagnosing diabetic neuropathy, patients' age average, antidepressant drug received and dose, sample size, duration of the disease and treatment follow-up, outcome measurement, evaluation of pain and rescue medication. Results: A combined RR: 1.67 (95% CI 1.38 - 2.02) was obtained; this result indicated that the antidepressive agent duloxetine, was effective for controlling pain in diabetic neuropathy. The corresponding NNT for Duloxetine was established, according to our interests; NNT = 6 (95% CI 5- 8) for achieving greater than 50% analgesia in patients suffering from painful diabetic neuropathy. Discussion: Antidepressive agents are frequently employed in the specific case of diabetic neuropathy; their analgesic benefit has been demonstrated.

Methodology for measuring the impact of mobile technology change from 2nd to 3th generation percerved by users of smes in Barranquilla

This article presents the results of a research project undertaken to obtain a Masters inBusiness Administration from the Business School at the Universidad del Norte, whosepurpose was to identify and test a methodology to measure the impact exerted by thechange from 2nd to 3rd generation mobile tech, based on the perception of users belongingto Barranquilla SME, motivated by the influence of technological changes in behavior andthe knowledge creation among society members, and the importance it has taken to thesurvival of organizations the adoption of applications for process automation, web-basedapplications, voice, data and video that allow the development of competitive advantages,based on information and creativity for new and better products or services.

On the generation mechanisms of short-scale unbalanced modes in rotating two-layer flows with vertical shear

We report on the results of a laboratory investigation using a rotating two-layer annulus experiment, which exhibits both large-scale vortical modes and short-scale divergent modes. A sophisticated visualization method allows us to observe the flow at very high spatial and temporal resolution. The balanced long-wavelength modes appear only when the Froude number is supercritical (i.e. $F\,{>}\,F_\mathrm{critical}\,{\equiv}\, \upi^2/2$), and are therefore consistent with generation by a baroclinic instability. The unbalanced short-wavelength modes appear locally in every single baroclinically unstable flow, providing perhaps the first direct experimental evidence that all evolving vortical flows will tend to emit freely propagating inertia–gravity waves. The short-wavelength modes also appear in certain baroclinically stable flows. We infer the generation mechanisms of the short-scale waves, both for the baro-clinically unstable case in which they co-exist with a large-scale wave, and for the baroclinically stable case in which they exist alone. The two possible mechanisms considered are spontaneous adjustment of the large-scale flow, and Kelvin–Helmholtz shear instability. Short modes in the baroclinically stable regime are generated only when the Richardson number is subcritical (i.e. $\hbox{\it Ri}\,{<}\,\hbox{\it Ri}_\mathrm{critical}\,{\equiv}\, 1$), and are therefore consistent with generation by a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. We calculate five indicators of short-wave generation in the baroclinically unstable regime, using data from a quasi-geostrophic numerical model of the annulus. There is excellent agreement between the spatial locations of short-wave emission observed in the laboratory, and regions in which the model Lighthill/Ford inertia–gravity wave source term is large. We infer that the short waves in the baroclinically unstable fluid are freely propagating inertia–gravity waves generated by spontaneous adjustment of the large-scale flow.

A depth-integrated 2D coastal and estuarine model with conformal boundary-fitted mesh generation

Details are given of the development and application of a 2D depth-integrated, conformal boundary-fitted, curvilinear model for predicting the depth-mean velocity field and the spatial concentration distribution in estuarine and coastal waters. A numerical method for conformal mesh generation, based on a boundary integral equation formulation, has been developed. By this method a general polygonal region with curved edges can be mapped onto a regular polygonal region with the same number of horizontal and vertical straight edges and a multiply connected region can be mapped onto a regular region with the same connectivity. A stretching transformation on the conformally generated mesh has also been used to provide greater detail where it is needed close to the coast, with larger mesh sizes further offshore, thereby minimizing the computing effort whilst maximizing accuracy. The curvilinear hydrodynamic and solute model has been developed based on a robust rectilinear model. The hydrodynamic equations are approximated using the ADI finite difference scheme with a staggered grid and the solute transport equation is approximated using a modified QUICK scheme. Three numerical examples have been chosen to test the curvilinear model, with an emphasis placed on complex practical applications

Motion of the dayside polar cap boundary during substorm cycles: II. Generation of poleward-moving events and polar cap patches by pulses in the magnetopause reconnection rate

Using data from the EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter) VHF and CUTLASS (Co-operative UK Twin- Located Auroral Sounding System) HF radars, we study the formation of ionospheric polar cap patches and their relationship to the magnetopause reconnection pulses identified in the companion paper by Lockwood et al. (2005). It is shown that the poleward-moving, high-concentration plasma patches observed in the ionosphere by EISCAT on 23 November 1999, as reported by Davies et al. (2002), were often associated with corresponding reconnection rate pulses. However, not all such pulses generated a patch and only within a limited MLT range (11:00–12:00 MLT) did a patch result from a reconnection pulse. Three proposed mechanisms for the production of patches, and of the concentration minima that separate them, are analysed and evaluated: (1) concentration enhancement within the patches by cusp/cleft precipitation; (2) plasma depletion in the minima between the patches by fast plasma flows; and (3) intermittent injection of photoionisation-enhanced plasma into the polar cap. We devise a test to distinguish between the effects of these mechanisms. Some of the events repeat too frequently to apply the test. Others have sufficiently long repeat periods and mechanism (3) is shown to be the only explanation of three of the longer-lived patches seen on this day. However, effect (2) also appears to contribute to some events. We conclude that plasma concentration gradients on the edges of the larger patches arise mainly from local time variations in the subauroral plasma, via the mechanism proposed by Lockwood et al. (2000).

The co-development of technology and new buildings: incorporating building integrated photovoltaics

Current approaches for the reduction of carbon emissions in buildings are often predicated on the integration of renewable technologies into building projects. Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is one of these technologies and brings its own set of challenges and problems with a resulting mutual articulation of this technology and the building. A Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) approach explores how negotiations between informal groups of project actors with shared interests shape the ongoing specification of both BIPV and the building. Six main groups with different interests were found to be involved in the introduction of BIPV (Cost Watchers, Design Aesthetes, Green Guardians, Design Optimizers, Generation Maximizers and Users). Their involvement around three sets of issues (design changes from lack of familiarity with the technology, misunderstandings from unfamiliar interdependencies of trades and the effects of standard firm procedure) is followed. Findings underline how BIPV requires a level of integration that typically spans different work packages and how standard contractual structures inhibit the smooth incorporation of BIPV. Successful implementation is marked by ongoing (re-)design of both the building and the technology as informal fluid groups of project actors with shared interests address the succession of problems which arise in the process of implementation.

Generation and Evolution of Natal Pulses: Solitary Meanders in the Agulhas Current

Solitar y meanders of the Agulhas Current, so-called Natal pulses, may play an important role in the overall dynamics of this current system. Several hypotheses concer ning the triggering of these pulses are tested using sea sur face height and temperature data from satellites. The data show the for mation of pulses in the Natal Bight area at irregular inter vals ranging from 50 to 240 days. Moving downstream at speeds between 10 and 20 km day 2 1 they sometimes reach sizes of up to 300 km. They seem to play a role in the shedding of Agulhas rings that penetrate the South Atlantic. The inter mittent for mation of these solitar y meanders is argued to be most probably related to barotropic instability of the strongly baroclinic Agulhas Current in the Natal Bight. The vorticity structure of the obser ved basic flow is argued to be stable anywhere along its path. However , a proper perturbation of the jet in the Natal Bight area will allow barotropic instability , because the bottom slope there is considerably less steep than elsewhere along the South African east coast. Using satellite altimetr y these perturbations seem to be related to the inter mittent presence of offshore anticyclonic anomalies, both upstream and eastward of the Natal Bight.

Datasets related to in-land water for limnology and remote sensing applications: distance-to-land, distance-to-water, water-body identifier and lake-centre co-ordinates

Datasets containing information to locate and identify water bodies have been generated from data locating static-water-bodies with resolution of about 300 m (1/360 deg) recently released by the Land Cover Climate Change Initiative (LC CCI) of the European Space Agency. The LC CCI water-bodies dataset has been obtained from multi-temporal metrics based on time series of the backscattered intensity recorded by ASAR on Envisat between 2005 and 2010. The new derived datasets provide coherently: distance to land, distance to water, water-body identifiers and lake-centre locations. The water-body identifier dataset locates the water bodies assigning the identifiers of the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD), and lake centres are defined for in-land waters for which GLWD IDs were determined. The new datasets therefore link recent lake/reservoir/wetlands extent to the GLWD, together with a set of coordinates which locates unambiguously the water bodies in the database. Information on distance-to-land for each water cell and the distance-to-water for each land cell has many potential applications in remote sensing, where the applicability of geophysical retrieval algorithms may be affected by the presence of water or land within a satellite field of view (image pixel). During the generation and validation of the datasets some limitations of the GLWD database and of the LC CCI water-bodies mask have been found. Some examples of the inaccuracies/limitations are presented and discussed. Temporal change in water-body extent is common. Future versions of the LC CCI dataset are planned to represent temporal variation, and this will permit these derived datasets to be updated.

Glucose metabolism by lymphocytes, macrophages, and tumor cells from Walker 256 tumor-bearing rats supplemented with fish oil for one generation

Here we investigated the effect of lifelong supplementation of the diet with coconut fat (CO, rich in saturated fatty acids) or fish oil (170, rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) on tumor growth and lactate production from glucose in Walker 256 tumor cells, peritoneal macrophages, spleen, and gut-associated lymphocytes. Female Wistar rats were supplemented with CO or FO prior to mating and then throughout pregnancy and gestation and then the male offspring were supplemented from weaning until 90 days of age. Then they were inoculated subcutaneously with Walker 256 tumor cells. Tumor weight at 14 days in control rats (those fed standard chow) and CO supplemented was approximately 30 g. Supplementation of the diet with FO significantly reduced tumor growth by 76%. Lactate production (nmol h(-1) mg(-1) protein) from glucose by Walker 256 cells in the group fed regular chow (W) was 381.8 +/- 14.9. Supplementation with coconut fat (WCO) caused a significant reduction in lactate production by 1.6-fold and with fish oil (WFO) by 3.8-fold. Spleen lymphocytes obtained from W and WCO groups had markedly increased lactate production (553 +/- 70 and 635 +/- 150) when compared to non-tumor-bearing rats (similar to 260 +/- 30). FO supplementation reduced significantly the lactate production (297 +/- 50). Gut-associated lymphocytes obtained from W and WCO groups increased lactate production markedly (280 +/- 31 and 276 +/- 25) when compared to non-tumor-bearing rats (similar to 90 +/- 18). FO supplementation reduced significantly the lactate production (168 +/- 14). Lactate production by peritoneal macrophages was increased by tumor burden but there was no difference between the groups fed the various diets. Lifelong consumption of FO protects against tumor growth and modifies glucose metabolism in Walker tumor cells and lymphocytes but not in macrophages. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Next-Generation Advising: Elevating Practice for Degree Completion and Career Success

As competition for applicants, legislative focus on graduation rates, and questions about the lifetime value of a degree intensify, many institutions are blurring boundaries between academic advising and co-curricular and career advising to promote student success and differentiate brand. This report examines how leaders break the trade-off between high-touch service and budget realities, identifying breakthrough practices, as well as the models and technologies required to deliver them in a cost-effective manner.

Co-evolução dos componentes do marco institucional e das trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas no setor de agro-energia (etanol) no Brasil (1970-2009)

Esta dissertação centra-se no exame da evolução dos componentes do marco institucional em associação com as trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas de produção e inovação em setores à base de recursos naturais em economias emergentes. Esse relacionamento é examinado no setor de etanol brasileiro, no período entre 1970 e 2009. O marco institucional é operacionalizado à base das macro-instituições (os regimes complexos constituídos por políticas públicas), meso-instituições (as relações políticas e estruturas burocráticas) e as instituições baseadas em conhecimento (os institutos de pesquisa e as universidades). As trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas são examinadas à base de níveis de inovação. A dissertação baseia-se em um estudo de caso em nível setorial. Além disso, o estudo baseia-se em evidências obtidas a partir de fontes diversas, em nível de indústria, em documentos governamentais e também em evidências secundárias em nível de empresa. Os principais resultados desta dissertação são os seguintes: (1) O setor de etanol atingiu níveis inovadores de capacidade tecnológica nas duas funções analisadas. Numa escala de 1 a 5, o setor adquiriu, durante o 1º período (1970-1989), capacidades tecnológicas industriais (produto e processo) no Nível 3 e, durante o 2º período (1990-2009), o setor de etanol acumulou capacidades tecnológicas industriais no Nível 5. No tocante à acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas na área agrícola (matéria-prima), durante o 1º período, o setor adquiriu capacidades tecnológicas no Nível 4 e apenas no período seguinte atingiu o Nível 5. (2) As instituições desempenharam um papel relevante sobre as trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas no setor de etanol brasileiro. Entre elas destaca-se às atividades de P&D desenvolvidas em instituições baseadas em conhecimento, que acumularam capacidades tecnológicas de produção e inovação, compartilhadas com as empresas. (3) Entretanto, o estudo aponta para algumas vulnerabilidades do setor de etanol brasileiro no que se refere a sua capacidade de sustentar o seu desempenho inovador. Entre elas destaca-se: (1) grande parte das atividades inovadoras em nível de P&D é realizada a base de arranjos externos, com pouco esforço de atividades realizadas a partir das empresas; (2) apesar do enorme esforço governamental para desenvolver o setor, esse está direcionado (locked-in) à trajetória de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas de etanol de 1ª geração; (3) os componentes do marco institucional incentivaram as atividades de pesquisa em universidades e institutos de pesquisa, em nível de bancada, que resultaram em invenções e projetos experimentais; (4) as condições favoráveis de mercado, a grande disponibilidade de cana-de-açúcar e a flexibilidade de produção de etanol/álcool contribuíram para a acomodação do setor de etanol, ou seja, parece haver uma zona de conforto no setor. Desta forma, as evidências alertam sobre a necessidade de investimentos em atividades inovadoras de P&D dentro das empresas (foco em inovações, riqueza e na diversificação para outros setores). Portanto, os resultados desta dissertação permitem apontar sugestões para gestores governamentais. As novas políticas públicas podem: (1) redirecionar as estratégias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas inovadoras, fortemente focadas na sustentação das trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas para produzir etanol de 1ª geração; (2) impulsionar a acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas de produção e inovação na trajetória emergente para produzir etanol de 2ª geração, atualmente em nível experimental e largamente desenvolvida dentro das instituições baseadas em conhecimento, e para diversificar os produtos para novos setores e linhas de negócio. Os resultados desta dissertação também sugerem aos gestores de empresas no setor brasileiro de etanol: (1) reformular as estratégias empresariais com a finalidade de expandir as atividades inovadoras dentro das empresas do setor de etanol, que poderão resultar na criação de inovações em escala industrial; (2) as empresas do setor de etanol deveriam assumir um comportamento proativo com a finalidade de coordenar os esforços de P&D em direção aos problemas e desafios futuros a serem enfrentados pelo setor brasileiro de etanol.

Organizational modeling with a semantic wiki: formalization of content and automatic diagram generation

A key to maintain Enterprises competitiveness is the ability to describe, standardize, and adapt the way it reacts to certain types of business events, and how it interacts with suppliers, partners, competitors, and customers. In this context the field of organization modeling has emerged with the aim to create models that help to create a state of self-awareness in the organization. This project's context is the use of Semantic Web in the Organizational modeling area. The Semantic Web technology advantages can be used to improve the way of modeling organizations. This was accomplished using a Semantic wiki to model organizations. Our research and implementation had two main purposes: formalization of textual content in semantic wiki pages; and automatic generation of diagrams from organization data stored in the semantic wiki pages.

ALGORITHM FOR PROBABILISTIC ANALYSIS of DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS WITH DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

In this paper an efficient algorithm for probabilistic analysis of unbalanced three-phase weakly-meshed distribution systems is presented. This algorithm uses the technique of Two-Point Estimate Method for calculating the probabilistic behavior of the system random variables. Additionally, the deterministic analysis of the state variables is performed by means of a Compensation-Based Radial Load Flow (CBRLF). Such load flow efficiently exploits the topological characteristics of the network. To deal with distributed generation, a strategy to incorporate a simplified model of a generator in the CBRLF is proposed. Thus, depending on the type of control and generator operation conditions, the node with distributed generation can be modeled either as a PV or PQ node. To validate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, the IEEE 37 bus test system is used. The probabilistic results are compared with those obtained using the Monte Carlo method.

Estimativas de (Co)Variâncias e Tendências Genéticas para Pesos em um Rebanho Canchim

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)