Distributions and abundances of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and other pelagic fishes in the California Current Ecosystem during spring 2006, 2008, and 2010, estimated from acoustic–trawl surveys

The abundances and distributions of coastal pelagic fish species in the California Current Ecosystem from San Diego to southern Vancouver Island, were estimated from combined acoustic and trawl surveys conducted in the spring of 2006, 2008, and 2010. Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus), and Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) were the dominant coastal pelagic fish species, in that order. Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) were sampled only sporadically and therefore estimates for these species were unreliable. The estimates of sardine biomass compared well with those of the annual assessments and confirmed a declining trajectory of the “northern stock” since 2006. During the sampling period, the biomass of jack mackerel was stable or increasing, and that of Pacific mackerel was low and variable. The uncertainties in these estimates are mostly the result of spatial patchiness which increased from sardine to mackerels to anchovy and herring. Future surveys of coastal pelagic fish species in the California Current Ecosystem should benefit from adaptive sampling based on modeled habitat; increased echosounder and trawl sampling, particularly for the most patchy and nearshore species; and directed-trawl sampling for improved species identification and estimations of their acoustic target stren

Programa Aqui tem Farmácia Popular: expansão entre 2006-2012 e comparação com os custos da assistência farmacêutica na Secretaria Municipal de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro

Em 2004 o governo federal anunciou um novo mecanismo para melhorar o acesso da população brasileira aos medicamentos, chamado de "Programa Farmácia Popular do Brasil" (PFPB) que disponibiliza um rol de produtos subsidiados pelo governo, utilizando ou não sistema de copagamento. O PFPB está dividido em três vertentes: (a) no setor público, chamada Rede Própria; (b) expansão em 2006, com o comércio farmacêutico denominado "Aqui Tem Farmácia Popular" (ATFP) e; (c) isenção de copagamento, em 2011, em todas as farmácias no âmbito do Programa, para anti-hipertensivos, antidiabéticos e antiasmáticos. Este estudo examinou o modelo de provisão de medicamentos na versão ATFP, comparando-o ao tradicionalmente praticado na Secretaria Municipal de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro (SMS-Rio), com vistas a avaliar seus custos para os setores públicos envolvidos. Foram levantados os gastos do Ministério da Saúde (MS) com pagamentos no Programa ATFP em fontes secundárias, como o Fundo Nacional de Saúde e a Sala de Apoio à Gestão Estratégica, de 2006 a 2012. Dados sobre o volume de pagamentos por medicamentos, perfil dos usuários atendidos e unidades farmacotécnicas (UF) dispensadas foram mapeados por contato direto com o Sistema Eletrônico do Serviço de Informações ao Cidadão. Estimativas dos custos da SMS-Rio, com aquisição, logística e dispensação de 25 medicamentos, restritas ao ano de 2012, foram realizadas. No período ocorreu forte expansão do Programa ATFP, tanto de unidades credenciadas, como de municípios cobertos, de 750% e 528%, respectivamente. Gastos federais com medicamentos no ATFP foram de aproximadamente R$ 3,4 bilhões, em valores ajustados para 31/12/2012. Houve inversão do fluxo dos pagamentos para entidades com matriz fora das capitais, representando aumento da capilaridade do Programa, e relativa concentração de pagamentos em grandes redes varejistas. No município do Rio de Janeiro, estes gastos foram superiores a R$ 260 milhões e, desde 2008, são maiores que as transferências do MS para aquisição de medicamentos básicos. Custos comparativos entre o menor Valor de Referência (VR) do Programa ATFP, e o custo estimado por UF na SMS-Rio dos medicamentos mostrou-se, na média geral, quase 255% vezes maior que o custo municipal. A comparação de custo foi mais favorável à SMS-Rio em 20 dos 25 itens comuns. Simulação considerando a demanda de cada medicamento consumido pela SMS-Rio em 2012 mostrou que, se a municipalidade os adquirisse pelo menor VR, incorreria em mais de R$ 95 milhões no custo global para os mesmos 25 produtos. O programa ministerial representou melhoria no acesso a medicamentos, mas os gastos expressivos repercutem em sua interface com o sistema descentralizado de financiamento da assistência farmacêutica. Alguns dos VR poderiam ser objetos de exame e avaliação, frente aos custos sistematicamente mais favoráveis nos valores levantados para a SMS-Rio.

A report of the Fisheries Catch Assessment Survey in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria for the August 2006 survey

This report presents findings of the CAS conducted in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria in August 2006. The results of the previous five CASs conducted under the same programme in July, August, September, and November 2005, and March 2006 are included to show the emerging trends. The results of the preceding CASs, which were hitherto estimated using raising factors from the 2004 Frame survey data, are updated in this report using raising factors based on the 2006 Frame survey data. Through regular CASs, information is building up to show the new picture of fish production in the Ugandan waters of the lake which is based on field observations. Similar surveys are simultaneously conducted in the Kenyan and Tanzanian parts of the lake which provide the lake wide perspective of fisheries production.

Evolving corporate entrepreneurship strategy: Technology incubation at Philips

Established firms tend to pursue incremental innovation by modifying and refining their existing products and processes rather than developing radical innovations. In the face of resistance to change and incumbent inertia, which prevent the generation of novelty, established firms have turned towards corporate entrepreneurship as a means of exploiting knowledge accumulated within its own boundaries and exploring external markets. This paper focuses on one mode of corporate entrepreneurship, corporate incubation, informed by a study of a Technology Incubator at Philips. An account of the history of the incubator traces its progress from its inception in 2002-2006 when further incubators were formed, building on this experience and focusing on lifestyle and healthcare technologies. We identify ways in which the Philips incubator represents an alternative selection environment that effectively simulated the venture capitalist model of entrepreneurial innovation. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Altitudinal Ranging of Black-Crested Gibbons at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan: Effects of Food Distribution, Temperature and Human Disturbance

We studied the altitudinal ranging of one habituated group of black-crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) at Dazhaizi, Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China, between March 2005 and April 2006. The group ranged from 1,900 to 2,680 m above sea level. Food distribution was the driving force behind the altitudinal ranging patterns of the study group. They spent 83.2% of their time ranging between 2,100 and 2,400 m, where 75.8% of important food patches occurred. They avoided using the area above 2,500 m despite a lack of human disturbance there, apparently because there were few food resources. Temperature had a limited effect on seasonal altitudinal ranging but probably explained the diel altitudinal ranging of the group, which tended to use the lower zone in the cold morning and the higher zone in the warm afternoon. Grazing goats, the main disturbance, were limited to below 2,100 m, which was defined as the high-disturbance area (HDA). Gibbons spent less time in the HDA and, when ranging there, spent more time feeding and travelling and less time resting and singing. Human activities directly influenced gibbon behaviour, might cause forest degradation and create dispersal barriers between populations. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel

A report of the fisheries catch assessment survey in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria for the March 2006 survey

This report presents findings of the CAS conducted in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria in March 2006. The results of the CASs in July, August, September, and November 2005 are also included to show the emerging trends. The findings indicate stable production of Nile perch and tilapia but large fluctuations in the Mukene fishery. The estimates from the March 2006 data show a monthly catch of 12,360.2 t worth shs12.8 billion of direct gross income to the fishers. Out of this, 36% (4479.4 t) of the catch was Nile perch which was worth shs 9.3 billion (73%) of the direct gross revenue of the fishers. The catches of tilapia contributed 19% of the total catch and 18% of the gross revenue from the catches at the beach. The catches of Mukene, a low value fish, contributed 44% of the weight of the total catches but yielded only 8% of the estimated gross income of fishers.

Polarized Raman scattering studies of nonpolar a-plane GaN films grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by MOCVD

Nonpolar (1120) a-plane GaN thin films were grown on r-plane (1102) sapphire substrates by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The stress characteristics of the a-plane GaN films were investigated by means of polarized Raman scattering spectra in backscattering configurations. The experimental results show that there are strong anisotropic in-plane stresses within the epitaxial a-plane GaN films by calculating the corresponding stress tensors. The temperature dependence of Raman scattering spectra was studied in the range from 100 K to 550 K. The measurements reveal that the Raman phonon frequencies decrease with increasing temperature. The temperature at which nonpolar a-plane GaN films are strain free is discussed. (c) 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Method for large-scale isolation and purification of R-phycoerythrin from red alga Polysiphonia urceolata Grev

R-phycoerythrin was isolated and purified from a red alga, Polysiphonia urceolata Grev, using Streamline column combined with ion-exchange chromatography or hydroxyapatite chromatography. The purity of R-phycoerythrin isolated by Streamline column was up to 1.66 and the yield of R-phycoerythrin could be as high as 0.68 mg/g frozen P. urceolata. All the eluates from Streamline column were divided into two equivalent parts, respectively. One part was pumped into the ion-exchange column loaded with Q-Sepharose and the other was applied to the adsorption column loaded with hydroxyapatite. The purities of R-phycoerythrin purified using these two methods were both up to 3.26, more than 3.2 the commonly accepted criterion. The yield of purified R-phycoerythrin from the ion-exchange chromatography was 0.40 mg/g frozen P. urceolata and that from the hydroxyapatite chromatography could reach 0.34 mg/g frozen P. urceolata. The purified protein had three absorption peaks at 498, 535, and 565 nm and displayed a fluorescence maximum at 580 nm, which was consistent with the typical spectrum of R-phycoerythrin. The purified R-PE was also identified with electrophoresis. Only one single protein band appeared on native-PAGE with silver staining. SDS-PAGE demonstrated the presence of one 20 kDa major subunit, and one low intensity band corresponding to 33 kDa subunit. The results indicate that using the expanded bed adsorption combined with ion-exchange chromatography or hydroxyapatite chromatography, R-phycoerythrin can be purified from frozen P. urceolata on large scale. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparation of porous chitosan/agarose microsphere and its R-phycoerythrin release properties

The chitosan microspheres (CS-CL) were prepared by suspension crosslinking method and used as carriers of R-phycoerythrin (R-PE). In this study, R-PE was loaded in the microspheres and released in vitro. The effects of pH value, temperature, ionic strength, and R-PE concentration on loading efficiency and release behavior were discussed. A novel microsphere that contained agarose (CS-AR MP) was prepared and the basic loading and releasing behavior for R-PE of this kind of new micro-spheres were also investigated. The results showed that all these chitosan microspheres have the ability to control-release R-PE. The addition of agarose may somewhat accelerate the release rate of R-PE from microspheres and reduce the capacity of adsorption for R-PE. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Imunização de bovinos com MSP1a e MSP2 recombinantes de Anaplasma marginale com CpG ODN 2006 como adjuvante, e desafio com isolado heterólogo.

A anaplasmose é uma importante enfermidade de bovinos de áreas tropicais e subtropicais do mundo, causada pela riquétsia intra-eritrocítica Anaplasma marginale. A vacinação tem sido a forma mais econômica e eficiente de controlar a anaplasmose bovina. Nos últimos anos, esses estudos têm se concentrado nas proteínas de membrana da riquétsia, sobretudo MSP1a e MSP2. Este trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar o grau de proteção induzido pelas proteínas de membrana MSP1a e MSP2 recombinantes de A. marginale, associadas com adjuvante CpG ODN 2006, perante desafio heterólogo e avaliar a resposta imune gerada. Novilhos da raça Aberdeen Angus foram imunizados três vezes com 200 ?g de MSP1a e/ou MSP2 recombinantes, associadas com CpG ODN 2006 e alúmen. Posteriormente, foram desafiados com 3 x 107 eritrócitos infectados com isolado heterólogo de A. marginale. Os animais experimentais apresentaram quadro clínico de anaplasmose (redução do volume globular, febre e riquetsemias detectáveis por distensões sangüíneas coradas). Não foram detectadas diferenças significativas entre os grupos imunizados e os controles quanto ao percentual de redução do volume globular, riquetsemias máximas e temperaturas retais máximas, indicando que as imunizações não foram protetoras. A despeito da significativa produção de IgG total contra MSP1a e MSP2, detectada no dia do desafio, os animais imunizados apresentaram produção significativa de IgG2 apenas contra MSP1a. As razões para as possíveis falhas de proteção são discutidas. Neste trabalho, é relatada a imunização de bovinos com MSP1a e MSP2 recombinantes de A. marginale, associadas com alúmen e CpG ODN 2006, e posterior desafio com isolado heterólogo, bem como a avaliação da resposta imune gerada.

Relatório Anual de Atividades - 2006: Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite e o Ministério da Defesa (Exército) - Acordo de Cooperação Geral.

2007