Terminologia de incidentes com medicamentos no contexto hospitalar

Incidentes com medicamentos geram problemas aos pacientes e custos adicionais ao sistema de saúde. A variedade de termos utilizada para comunicá-los propicia divergências nos resultados de pesquisas e confundem notificadores. Objetivou-se revisar os termos utilizados para descrever estes incidentes confrontando-os com as conceituações/definições oficiais disponíveis. Pesquisaram-se as bases PubMed, MEDLINE, IPA e LILACS para selecionar estudos publicados entre janeiro de 1990 e dezembro de 2005. Selecionaram-se 33 publicações. Verificou-se que a terminologia supranacional recomendada para descrever incidentes com medicamentos é insuficiente, mas que há consenso de uso das expressões em função do gênero do incidente. O termo Reação Adversa a Medicamento é mais utilizado quando não se verifica intencionalidade. A expressão Evento Adverso a Medicamento foi mais usada quando se descreviam incidentes durante a hospitalização; e Problema Relacionado a Medicamento foi mais utilizada em estudos que avaliaram atenção/cuidados farmacêuticos (uso/falta do medicamento). Ainda assim, a linha divisória entre essas três categorias não é clara e simples. Futuros estudos das relações entre as categorias e investigações multidisciplinares sobre erro humano podem subsidiar a proposição de novas conceituações

ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN BRAZIL: CONTEXT, ICT MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOMES

The State Reform processes combined with the emergence and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) originated electronic government policies and initiatives in Brazil. This paper dwells on Brazilian e-government by investigating the institutional design it assumed in the state's public sphere, and how it contributed to outcomes related to e-gov possibilities. The analyses were carried out under an interpretativist perspective by making use of Institutional Theory. From the analyses of interviews with relevant actors in the public sphere, such as state secretaries and presidents of public ICT companies, conclusions point towards low institutionalization of e-gov policies. The institutional design of Brazilian e-gov limits the use of ICT to provide integrated public services, to amplify participation and transparency, and to improve public policies management.

Integration and visualization of systems biology data in context of the genome

Background: High-density tiling arrays and new sequencing technologies are generating rapidly increasing volumes of transcriptome and protein-DNA interaction data. Visualization and exploration of this data is critical to understanding the regulatory logic encoded in the genome by which the cell dynamically affects its physiology and interacts with its environment. Results: The Gaggle Genome Browser is a cross-platform desktop program for interactively visualizing high-throughput data in the context of the genome. Important features include dynamic panning and zooming, keyword search and open interoperability through the Gaggle framework. Users may bookmark locations on the genome with descriptive annotations and share these bookmarks with other users. The program handles large sets of user-generated data using an in-process database and leverages the facilities of SQL and the R environment for importing and manipulating data. A key aspect of the Gaggle Genome Browser is interoperability. By connecting to the Gaggle framework, the genome browser joins a suite of interconnected bioinformatics tools for analysis and visualization with connectivity to major public repositories of sequences, interactions and pathways. To this flexible environment for exploring and combining data, the Gaggle Genome Browser adds the ability to visualize diverse types of data in relation to its coordinates on the genome. Conclusions: Genomic coordinates function as a common key by which disparate biological data types can be related to one another. In the Gaggle Genome Browser, heterogeneous data are joined by their location on the genome to create information-rich visualizations yielding insight into genome organization, transcription and its regulation and, ultimately, a better understanding of the mechanisms that enable the cell to dynamically respond to its environment.

alpha plus alpha scattering reexamined in the context of the Sao Paulo potential

We have analyzed a large set of alpha + alpha elastic scattering data for bombarding energies ranging from 0.6 to 29.5 MeV. Because of the complete lack of open reaction channels, the optical interaction at these energies must have a vanishing imaginary part. Thus, this system is particularly important because the corresponding elastic scattering cross sections are very sensitive to the real part of the interaction. The data were analyzed in the context of the velocity-dependent Sao Paulo potential, which is a successful theoretical model for the description of heavy-ion reactions from sub-barrier to intermediate energies. We have verified that, even in this low-energy region, the velocity dependence of the model is quite important for describing the data of the alpha + alpha system.

Context tree selection: A unifying view

Context tree models have been introduced by Rissanen in [25] as a parsimonious generalization of Markov models. Since then, they have been widely used in applied probability and statistics. The present paper investigates non-asymptotic properties of two popular procedures of context tree estimation: Rissanen's algorithm Context and penalized maximum likelihood. First showing how they are related, we prove finite horizon bounds for the probability of over- and under-estimation. Concerning overestimation, no boundedness or loss-of-memory conditions are required: the proof relies on new deviation inequalities for empirical probabilities of independent interest. The under-estimation properties rely on classical hypotheses for processes of infinite memory. These results improve on and generalize the bounds obtained in Duarte et al. (2006) [12], Galves et al. (2008) [18], Galves and Leonardi (2008) [17], Leonardi (2010) [22], refining asymptotic results of Buhlmann and Wyner (1999) [4] and Csiszar and Talata (2006) [9]. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The queen is dead-long live the workers: intraspecific parasitism by workers in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris

Insect societies are well known for their high degree of cooperation, but their colonies can potentially be exploited by reproductive workers who lay unfertilized, male eggs, rather than work for the good of the colony. Recently, it has also been discovered that workers in bumblebees and Asian honeybees can succeed in entering and parasitizing unrelated colonies to produce their own male offspring. The aim of this study was to investigate whether such intraspecific worker parasitism might also occur in stingless bees, another group of highly social bees. Based on a large-scale genetic study of the species Melipona scutellaris, and the genotyping of nearly 600 males from 45 colonies, we show that similar to 20% of all males are workers` sons, but that around 80% of these had genotypes that were incompatible with them being the sons of workers of the resident queen. By tracking colonies over multiple generations, we show that these males were not produced by drifted workers, but rather by workers that were the offspring of a previous, superseded queen. This means that uniquely, workers reproductively parasitize the next-generation workforce. Our results are surprising given that most colonies were sampled many months after the previous queen had died and that workers normally only have a life expectancy of similar to 30 days. It also implies that reproductive workers greatly outlive all other workers. We explain our results in the context of kin selection theory, and the fact that it pays workers more from exploiting the colony if costs are carried by less related individuals.

Charles Darwin goes to school: the role of cartoons and narrative in setting science in an historical context

Science education is under revision. Recent changes in society require changes in education to respond to new demands. Scientific literacy can be considered a new goal of science education and the epistemological gap between natural sciences and literacy disciplines must be overcome. The history of science is a possible bridge to link these `two cultures` and to foster an interdisciplinary approach in the classroom. This paper acknowledges Darwin`s legacy and proposes the use of cartoons and narrative expositions to put this interesting chapter of science into its historical context. A five-lesson didactic sequence was developed to tell part of the story of Darwin`s expedition through South America for students from 10 to 12 years of age. Beyond geological and biological perspectives, the inclusion of historical, social and geographical facts demonstrated the beauty and complexity of the findings that Darwin employed to propose the theory of evolution.

Coordination dynamics and attentional costs of continuous and discontinuous bimanual circle drawing movements

It has been suggested that the temporal control of rhythmic unimianual movements is different between tasks requiring continuous (e.g., circle drawing) and discontinuous movements (e.g., finger tapping). Specifically, for continuous movements temporal regularities are ail emergent property, whereas for tasks that involve discontinuities timing is ail explicit part of the action goal. The present experiment further investigated the control of continuous and discontinuous movements by comparing the coordination dynamics and attentional demands of bimanual continuous circle drawing with bimanual intermittent circle drawing. The intermittent task required participants to insert a 400 ms pause between each cycle while circling. Using dual-task methodology, 15 right-handed participants performed the two circle drawing tasks, while vocally responding to randomly presented auditory probes. The circle drawing tasks were performed in symmetrical and asymmetrical coordination modes and at movement frequencies of 1 Hz and 1.7 Hz. Intermittent circle drawing exhibited superior spatial and temporal accuracy and stability than continuous circle drawing supporting the hypothesis that the two tasks have different underlying control processes. In terms of attentional cost, probe RT was significantly slower during the intermittent circle drawing task than the continuous circle drawing task across both coordination modes and movement frequencies. Of interest was the finding that in the intermittent circling task reaction time (RT) to probes presented during the pause between cycles did not differ from the RT to probes occurring during the circling movement. The differences in attentional demands between the intermittent and continuous circle drawing tasks may reflect the operation of explicit event timing and implicit emergent timing processes, respectively. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Learning Profile Identification Based on the Analysis of the User Context of Interaction

One of the e-learning environment goal is to attend the individual needs of students during the learning process. The adaptation of contents, activities and tools into different visualization or in a variety of content types is an important feature of this environment, bringing to the user the sensation that there are suitable workplaces to his profile in the same system. Nevertheless, it is important the investigation of student behaviour aspects, considering the context where the interaction happens, to achieve an efficient personalization process. The paper goal is to present an approach to identify the student learning profile analyzing the context of interaction. Besides this, the learning profile could be analyzed in different dimensions allows the system to deal with the different focus of the learning.

Hybrid Method to Assess Sensitive Process Interruption Costs Due to Faults in Electric Power Distribution Networks

This paper shows a new hybrid method for risk assessment regarding interruptions in sensitive processes due to faults in electric power distribution systems. This method determines indices related to long duration interruptions and short duration voltage variations (SDVV), such as voltage sags and swells in each customer supplied by the distribution network. Frequency of such occurrences and their impact on customer processes are determined for each bus and classified according to their corresponding magnitude and duration. The method is based on information regarding network configuration, system parameters and protective devices. It randomly generates a number of fault scenarios in order to assess risk areas regarding long duration interruptions and voltage sags and swells in an especially inventive way, including frequency of events according to their magnitude and duration. Based on sensitivity curves, the method determines frequency indices regarding disruption in customer processes that represent equipment malfunction and possible process interruptions due to voltage sags and swells. Such approach allows for the assessment of the annual costs associated with each one of the evaluated power quality indices.

Reconfiguration of distribution networks to minimize loss and disruption costs using genetic algorithms

In this paper a computational implementation of an evolutionary algorithm (EA) is shown in order to tackle the problem of reconfiguring radial distribution systems. The developed module considers power quality indices such as long duration interruptions and customer process disruptions due to voltage sags, by using the Monte Carlo simulation method. Power quality costs are modeled into the mathematical problem formulation, which are added to the cost of network losses. As for the EA codification proposed, a decimal representation is used. The EA operators, namely selection, recombination and mutation, which are considered for the reconfiguration algorithm, are herein analyzed. A number of selection procedures are analyzed, namely tournament, elitism and a mixed technique using both elitism and tournament. The recombination operator was developed by considering a chromosome structure representation that maps the network branches and system radiality, and another structure that takes into account the network topology and feasibility of network operation to exchange genetic material. The topologies regarding the initial population are randomly produced so as radial configurations are produced through the Prim and Kruskal algorithms that rapidly build minimum spanning trees. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using economic instruments to address emissions from air transport in the European Union

Air transport has become a vital component of the global economy. However, greenhouse-gas emissions from this sector have a significant impact on global climate, being responsible for over 3.5% of all anthropogenic radiative forcing. Also, the accrued visibility of aircraft emissions greatly affects the public image of the industry. In this context, incentive-based regulations, in the form of price or quantity controls, can be envisaged as alternatives to mitigate these emissions. The use of environmental charges in air transport, and the inclusion of the sector in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), are considered under a range of scenarios. The impacts of these measures on demand are estimated, and results suggest that they are likely to be minimal-mainly due to the high willingness to pay for air transport. In particular, in the EU ETS scenario currently favoured by the EU, demand reductions are less than 2%. This may not be true in the longer run, for short trips, or if future caps become more stringent. Furthermore, given current estimates of the social Cost Of CO2 as well as typical EU ETS prices, supply-side abatement would be too costly to be encouraged by these policies in the short term. The magnitude of aviation CO2 emissions in the EU is estimated, both in physical and monetary terms; the results are consistent with Eurocontrol estimates and, for the EU-25, the total social cost of these emissions represents only 0.03% of the region`s GDP. It is concluded that the use of multisector policies, such as the EU ETS, is unsuitable for curbing emissions from air transport, and that stringent emission charges or an isolated ETS would be better instruments. However, the inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS has advantages under target-oriented post-2012 scenarios, such as policy-costs dilution, certainty in reductions, and flexibility in abatement allocation. This solution is also attractive to airlines, as it would improve their public image but require virtually no reduction of their own emissions, as they would be fully capable of passing on policy costs to their customers.

Biogeochemical cycles of nutrients in tropical Eucalyptus plantations Main features shown by intensive monitoring in Congo and Brazil

The sustainability of fast-growing tropical Eucalyptus plantations is of concern in a context of rising fertilizer costs, since large amounts of nutrients are removed with biomass every 6-7 years from highly weathered soils. A better understanding of the dynamics of tree requirements is required to match fertilization regimes to the availability of each nutrient in the soil. The nutrition of Eucalyptus plantations has been intensively investigated and many studies have focused on specific fluxes in the biogeochemical cycles of nutrients. However, studies dealing with complete cycles are scarce for the Tropics. The objective of this paper was to compare these cycles for Eucalyptus plantations in Congo and Brazil, with contrasting climates, soil properties, and management practices. The main features were similar in the two situations. Most nutrient fluxes were driven by crown establishment the two first years after planting and total biomass production thereafter. These forests were characterized by huge nutrient requirements: 155, 10, 52, 55 and 23 kg ha(-1) of N, P, K, Ca and Mg the first year after planting at the Brazilian study site, respectively. High growth rates the first months after planting were essential to take advantage of the large amounts of nutrients released into the soil solutions by organic matter mineralization after harvesting. This study highlighted the predominant role of biological and biochemical cycles over the geochemical cycle of nutrients in tropical Eucalyptus plantations and indicated the prime importance of carefully managing organic matter in these soils. Limited nutrient losses through deep drainage after clear-cutting in the sandy soils of the two study sites showed the remarkable efficiency of Eucalyptus trees in keeping limited nutrient pools within the ecosystem, even after major disturbances. Nutrient input-output budgets suggested that Eucalyptus plantations take advantage of soil fertility inherited from previous land uses and that long-term sustainability will require an increase in the inputs of certain nutrients. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing the effects of early silvicultural management on long-term site productivity of fast-growing eucalypt plantations: the Brazilian experience

Eucalyptus is the dominant and most productive planted forest in Brazil, covering around 3.4 million ha for the production of charcoal, pulp, sawtimber, timber plates, wood foils, plywood and for building purposes. At the early establishment of the forest plantations, during the second half of the 1960s, the eucalypt yield was 10 m(3) ha(-1) y(-1). Now, as a result of investments in research and technology, the average productivity is 38 m3 ha(-1) y(-1). The productivity restrictions are related to the following environmental factors, in order of importance: water deficits > nutrient deficiency > soil depth and strength. The clonal forests have been fundamental in sites with larger water and nutrient restrictions, where they out-perform those established from traditional seed-based planting stock. When the environmental limitations are small the productivities of plantations based on clones or seeds appear to be similar. In the long term there are risks to sustainability, because of the low fertility and low reserves of primary minerals in the soils, which are, commonly, loamy and clayey oxisols and ultisols. Usually, a decline of soil quality is caused by management that does not conserve soil and site resources, damages soil physical and chemical characteristics, and insufficient or unbalanced fertiliser management. The problem is more serious when fast-growing genotypes are planted, which have a high nutrient demand and uptake capacity, and therefore high nutrient output through harvesting. The need to mobilise less soil by providing more cover and protection, reduce the nutrient and organic matter losses, preserve crucial physical properties as permeability ( root growth, infiltration and aeration), improve weed control and reduce costs has led to a progressive increase in the use of minimum cultivation practices during the last 20 years, which has been accepted as a good alternative to keep or increase site quality in the long term. In this paper we provide a synthesis and critical appraisal of the research results and practical implications of early silvicultural management on long-term site productivity of fast-growing eucalypt plantations arising from the Brazilian context.

Are there costs in the repeated mating activities of female Southern stink bugs Nezara viridula?

Mating is an energy demanding process, imposing risks to physical injuries, pathogen infection and predation. Nevertheless, repeated and multiple mating are widespread even in insect species where nuptial gifts are not involved. The effects of repeated mating, by the same male, are examined on the reproductive performance of female Southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (L.). Fecundity is reduced in females mated three or four times, although there is increased longevity. Females mated once or twice produce more egg clusters and concentrate egg-laying activity in the early part of adult life, whereas those mating more often lay eggs throughout the life span, with fewer egg clusters. Although fecundity is negatively affected by the number of matings, egg fertility remains unaffected.