Relationships between gender, age, family conditions, physical and mental health, and social isolation of elderly caregivers

Background: In an aging population an increasing number of elderly caregivers will be called upon to provide care over a long period, during which time they will be burdened both by caregiving and by the physiological effects of their own aging. Among them there will be more aged male caregivers, who will probably be less prepared than women to become caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between caregivers' gender, age, family income, living arrangements and social support as independent variables, and depressive symptoms, comorbidities, level of frailty, grip strength, walking speed and social isolation, as dependent variables. Methods: 176 elderly people (123 women) were selected from a sample of a population-based study on frailty (n = 900), who had cared for a spouse (79.3%) and/or parents (31.4%) in the past five years (mean age = 71.8 +/- 4.86 years; mean monthly family income in minimum wages = 4.64 +/- 5.14). The study used questionnaires and self-report scales, grip strength and walking speed tests. Results: 65% of participants evaluated caregiving as being very stressful. Univariate analyses of regression showed low family income as a risk factor for depression; being female and low perceived social support as a risk for comorbidities; being 80 years of age and above for low grip strength; and being male for social isolation indicated by discontinuity of activities and social roles. In multivariate analyses of regression, poverty arose as a risk factor for depression and being female for comorbidities. Conclusions: Gender roles, age, income and social support interacted with physical and emotional health, and with the continuity of social participation of elderly caregivers. Special attention must be given to male caregivers.

Aerobic exercise training delays cardiac dysfunction and improves autonomic control of circulation in diabetic rats undergoing myocardial infarction

Background: Exercise training (ET) has been used as a nonpharmacological strategy for treatment of diabetes and myocardial infarction (MI) separately. We evaluated the effects ET on functional and molecular left ventricular (LV) parameters as well as on autonomic function and mortality in diabetics after MI. Methods and Results: Male Wistar rats were divided into control (C), sedentary-diabetic infarcted (SDI), and trained-diabetic infarcted (TDI) groups. MI was induced after 15 days of streptozotocin-diabetes induction. Seven days after MI, the trained group underwent ET protocol (90 days, 50-70% maximal oxygen consumption-VO(2)max). LV function was evaluated noninvasively and invasively; baroreflex sensitivity, pulse interval variability, cardiac output, tissue blood flows, VEGF mRNA and protein, HIF1-alpha mRNA, and Ca2+ handling proteins were measured. MI area was reduced in TDI (21 +/- 4%) compared with SDI (38 +/- 4%). ET induced improvement in cardiac function, hemodynamics, and tissue blood flows. These changes were probable consequences of a better expression of Ca2+ handling proteins, increased VEGF mRNA and protein expression as well as improvement in autonomic function, that resulted in reduction of mortality in TDI (33%) compared with SDI (68%) animals. Conclusions: ET reduced cardiac and peripheral dysfunction and preserved autonomic control in diabetic infarcted rats. Consequently, these changes resulted in improved VO(2)max and survival after MI. (J Cardiac Fail 2012; 18:734-744)

Low-dose Enalapril Reduces Angiotensin II and Attenuates Diabetic-induced Cardiac and Autonomic Dysfunctions

Activation of renin-angiotensin system has been linked to cardiovascular and autonomic dysfunctions in diabetes. Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), enalapril, on cardiac and autonomic functions in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (50 mg/kg), and rats were treated with enalapril (1 mg.kg(-1).d(-1)). After 30 days, evaluations were performed in control, diabetic, and enalapril-treated groups. Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography and through cannulation of the left ventricle (at baseline and in response to volume overload). Heart rate and systolic blood pressure variabilities were evaluated in the time and frequency domains. Streptozotocin rats had left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunctions, expressed by reduced ejection fraction and increased isovolumic relaxation time. The ACEI prevented these changes, improved diastolic cardiac responses to volume overload and total power of heart rate variability, reduced the ACE1 activity and protein expression and cardiac angiotensin (Ang) II levels, and increased angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 activity, despite unchanged blood pressure. Correlations were obtained between Ang II content with systolic and diastolic functions and heart rate variability. These findings provide evidence that the low-dose ACEI prevents autonomic and cardiac dysfunctions induced by diabetes without changing blood pressure and associated with reduced cardiac Ang II and increased angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 activity.

K-41(n, gamma)K-42 thermal and resonance integral cross section measurements

We measured the K-41 thermal neutron absorption and resonance integral cross sections after the irradiation of KNO3 samples near the core of the IEA-R1 IPEN pool-type research reactor. Bare and cadmium-covered targets were irradiated in pairs with Au-Al alloy flux-monitors. The residual activities were measured by gamma-ray spectroscopy with a HPGe detector, with special care to avoid the K-42 decay beta(-) emission effects on the spectra. The gamma-ray self-absorption was corrected with the help of MCNP simulations. We applied the Westcott formalism in the average neutron flux determination and calculated the depression coefficients for thermal and epithermal neutrons due to the sample thickness with analytical approximations. We obtained 1.57(4) and 1.02(4) b, for thermal and resonance integral cross sections, respectively, with correlation coefficient equal to 0.39.

A new species of the Bokermannohyla circumdata group (Anura: Hylidae) from southeastern Brazil, with bioacoustic data on seven species of the genus

We describe a new species of the Bokermannohyla circumdata group from the Estacao de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Ambiental Galheiro (EPDA-Galheiro) (19 degrees 12'S; 47 degrees 08'W), Municipality of Perdizes, State of Minas Gerais, a mid-altitudinal (similar or equal to 850 m above sea level) riparian forest environment in the Cerrado of southeastern Brazil. Bokermannohyla napolii sp. nov. is allied to the large-sized species of the group, diagnosed on the basis of adult morphology/morphometrics, and mainly vocalizations. Adult specimens of the new species are most closely related to those of B. luctuosa and B. circumdata, but can be differentiated from the former by having distal subarticular tubercle of finger III bifid/divided in males, and finger IV bifid/divided in males and females; and from both B. luctuosa and B. circumdata by a distinctive advertisement call structure. We also provide bioacoustic data on seven other species of the genus, including previously unknown advertisement calls of B. circumdata and B. carvalhoi, and re-description of the advertisement calls of B. luctuosa, B. ibitiguara, B. nanuzae, B. sazimai, and B. hylax.

A Facile, Versatile, and Mild Morita-Baylis-Hillman-Type Reaction for the Modular One-Pot Synthesis of Highly Functionalized MBH Adducts

MoritaBaylisHillman derivatives have been extensively investigated as intermediates in the preparation of important classes of compounds. However, there are intrinsic limitations regarding the structure of the Michael electrophile acceptors, the aldehydes, and the catalysts. Therefore, this transformation has several drawbacks, including, for example, its long reaction times. Herein we present a simple, general, fast, and high-yielding protocol for the one-pot synthesis of MoritaBaylisHillman derivatives. Our approach is driven by a lithium selenolate Michael/aldol operation with concomitant O-functionalization/selenoxide elimination cascade sequences.

Toll-like receptor 1 N248S single-nucleotide polymorphism is associated with leprosy risk and regulates immune activation during mycobacterial infection

Conflicting findings about the association between leprosy and TLR1 variants N248S and I602S have been reported. Here, we performed case-control and family based studies, followed by replication in 2 case-control populations from Brazil, involving 3162 individuals. Results indicated an association between TLR1 248S and leprosy in the case-control study (SS genotype odds ratio [OR], 1.81; P = .004) and the family based study (z = 2.02; P = .05). This association was consistently replicated in other populations (combined OR, 1.51; P < .001), corroborating the finding that 248S is a susceptibility factor for leprosy. Additionally, we demonstrated that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) carrying 248S produce a lower tumor necrosis factor/interleukin-10 ratio when stimulated with Mycobacterium leprae but not with lipopolysaccharide or PAM3cysK4. The same effect was observed after infection of PBMCs with the Moreau strain of bacillus Calmette-Guerin but not after infection with other strains. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the Toll-like receptor 1 structure containing 248S amino acid is different from the structure containing 248N. Our results suggest that TLR1 248S is associated with an increased risk for leprosy, consistent with its hypoimmune regulatory function.

Diet-Sensitive Sources of Reactive Oxygen Species in Liver Mitochondria: Role of Very Long Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenases

High fat diets and accompanying hepatic steatosis are highly prevalent conditions. Previous work has shown that steatosis is accompanied by enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may mediate further liver damage. Here we investigated mechanisms leading to enhanced ROS generation following high fat diets (HFD). We found that mitochondria from HFD livers present no differences in maximal respiratory rates and coupling, but generate more ROS specifically when fatty acids are used as substrates. Indeed, many acyl-CoA dehydrogenase isoforms were found to be more highly expressed in HFD livers, although only the very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) was more functionally active. Studies conducted with permeabilized mitochondria and different chain length acyl-CoA derivatives suggest that VLCAD is also a source of ROS production in mitochondria of HFD animals. This production is stimulated by the lack of NAD+. Overall, our studies uncover VLCAD as a novel, diet-sensitive, source of mitochondrial ROS.

Evolução da literatura de inovação em relações de cooperação: um estudo bibliométrico num período de vinte anos

Uma das principais características das relações de interação em busca de cooperação consiste na busca de novas formas de gestão produtiva e administrativa, condicionadas pela pressão por inovação. O objetivo deste trabalho é realizar uma análise da literatura, entre os anos de 1991 e 2010, sobre os temas inovação e cooperação. Para isso, os autores utilizaram o método de estudo bibliométrico e análise qualitativa de alguns dos trabalhos e referências. Foi realizada uma busca na base de dados ISI Web of Knowledge (Web of Science) com os tópicos relacionados à inovação e cooperação. Com base na análise das palavras-chave que mais apareceram nos artigos da amostra e na nomenclatura utilizada pela base de dados para codificar as áreas, foram identificadas as oito áreas que mais se relacionaram com a temática de pesquisa, sendo elas capacidade de absorção (absorptive capacity), alianças estratégicas, conhecimento, desempenho, gestão, inovação tecnológica, pesquisa e desenvolvimento, desenvolvimento de novos produtos e redes. Verificou-se que as publicações concentraram-se em apenas 17 periódicos, sendo que os quatro que mais publicaram foram: International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Technology Management, Management Science e Technovation. As publicações cresceram a partir de 2000, com um pico em 2008. A crescente necessidade de interação entre entidades e de inovação, por meio da combinação de recursos internos e externos, justificam a análise da evolução da literatura.

Faturamento de novos produtos na indústria do estado de São Paulo: análise dos fatores de influência

Diversos estudos têm sido realizados no intuito de analisar os impactos da inovação tecnológica no desempenho comercial das empresas. Com isso, este estudo visa analisar os fatores de influência sobre o percentual do faturamento com a venda de novos produtos na indústria do Estado de São Paulo. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com características descritivas e explicativas, cuja abordagem é quantitativa, utilizando dados secundários provindos da Pesquisa de Atividade Econômica Paulista (PAEP), realizada pela Fundação SEADE. Os resultados mostram que os fatores de influência sobre o faturamento provindo de novos produtos são: a origem do capital controlador; a empresa pertencer a um grupo empresarial; o total de pessoal em pesquisa e desenvolvimento; o pessoal alocado diretamente na produção; as fontes de informação para atividades inovativas; e o apoio governamental para a inovação tecnológica.

Effect of simvastatin in the autonomic system is dependent on the increased gain/sensitivity of the baroreceptors

A number of mechanisms have been proposed to explain the pleiotropic effect of statin therapy to reduce sympathetic outflow in cardiovascular disease. We tested the hypothesis that statin treatment could improve baroreflex gain-sensitivity triggered by morphological adaptations in the mechanoreceptor site, thus reducing sympathetic activity, regardless of arterial pressure (AP) level reduction. Male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were divided into control (SHR, n = 8) and SHR-simvastatin (5 mg/kg/day, for 7 days) (SHR-S, n = 8). After treatment, AP, baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in response to AP-induced changes, aortic depressor nerve activity, and spectral analyses of pulse interval (PI) and AP variabilities were performed. Internal and external carotids were prepared for morphoquantitative evaluation. Although AP was similar between groups, sympathetic modulation, represented by the low frequency band of PI (SHR: 6.84 ± 3.19 vs. SHR-S: 2.41 ± 0.96 msec2) and from systolic AP variability (SHR: 3.95 ± 0.36 vs. SHR-S: 2.86 ± 0.18 mmHg2), were reduced in treated animals. In parallel, simvastatin induced an increase of 26% and 21% in the number of elastic lamellae as well as a decrease of 9% and 25% in the carotid thickness in both, external and internal carotid, respectively. Moreover, improved baroreceptor function (SHR: 0.78 ± 0.03 vs. SHR-S: 1.06 ± 0.04% mv/mmHg) was observed in addition to a 115% increase in aortic depressor nerve activity in SHR-S rats. Therefore, our data suggest that the reduction of sympathetic outflow in hypertension by simvastatin treatment may be triggered by structural changes in the carotid arteries and increased BRS in response to an improvement of the baroreceptors discharge and consequently of the afferent pathway of the baroreflex arch.

Impact of exercise training on redox signaling in cardiovascular diseases

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species regulate a wide array of signaling pathways that governs cardiovascular physiology. However, oxidant stress resulting from disrupted redox signaling has an adverse impact on the pathogenesis and progression of cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we address how redox signaling and oxidant stress affect the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, hypertension and heart failure. We also summarize the benefits of exercise training in tackling the hyperactivation of cellular oxidases and mitochondrial dysfunction seen in cardiovascular diseases

Understanding the solid forms of 5E-phenylethenylbenzofuroxan with different in vivo anti-T. cruzi activity

5E-Phenylethenylbenzofuroxan (5PhEBfx) was reported as an excellent anti-Chagas drug candidate. However, its oral bioavailability was affected by the crystallization process. Two samples exhibiting variable in vivo activity was investigated: a thin yellow powder (5PhEBfx-Y) and orange needles (5PhEBfx-O). X-ray powder diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, vibrational spectroscopy, optical and electron scanning microscopies were applied to investigate both solid forms in order to correlate the solid-state properties with the variable bioavailability of 5PhEBfx. It was observed that 5PhEBfx-Y have a better solubility and consequently higher bioavailability when compared with 5PhEBfx-O. This result suggests that the difference of activity between these two 5E-Phenylethenylbenzofuroxanes could be associated with the solid forms, which also cause the coloration variation.

Early termination of R&D projects

Early project termination is one of the most difficult decisions to be made by Research and Development managers. While there is the risk of terminating good projects, there is also the opposite risk of not terminating bad projects and overspend resources in unproductive research. Criteria used for identifying these projects are common subject of research in Business Administration. In addition, companies might take important lessons from its interrupted projects that could improve their overall portfolio technical and commercial success. Finally, the set and weight of criteria, as well as the procedures companies use for achieve learning from cancelled projects may vary depending on the project type. This research intends to contribute to the understanding of policies applied to projects that were once considered attractive, but by some reason is not appreciated anymore. The research addressed the question: How companies deal with projects that become unattractive? More specifically, this research tried to answer the following questions: (1) Are projects killed or (otherwise) they die naturally by lack of resources? (2) What criteria are used to terminate projects during development? (3) How companies learn from the terminated projects to improve the overall portfolio performance? (4) Are the criteria and learning procedures different for different types of projects? In order to answer these questions, we performed a multiple case study with four companies that are reference in business administration and innovation: (1) Oxiteno, considered the base case, (2) Natura, the literal replication, (3) Mahle and (4) AES, the theoretical replications. The case studies were performed using a semi-structured protocol for interviews, which were recorded and analyzed for comparison. We found that the criteria companies use for selecting projects for termination are very similar to those anticipated by the literature, except for a criteria related to compliance. We have evidences to confirm that the set of criteria is not altered when dealing with different project types, however the weight they are applied indeed varies. We also found that learning with cancelled projects is yet very incipient, with very few structured formal procedures being described for capturing learning with early-terminated projects. However, we could observe that these procedures are more common when dealing with projects labeled as innovative, risky, big and costly, while those smaller and cheaper derivative projects aren\'t subject of a complete investigation on the learning they brought to the company. For these, the most common learning route is the informal, where the project team learns and passes the knowledge though interpersonal information exchange. We explain that as a matter of cost versus benefit of spending time to deeply investigate projects with little potential to bring new knowledge to the project team and the organization

Aplicações híbridas entre sistemas multiagentes e técnicas de inteligência artificial para redes inteligentes de distribuição de energia elétrica

Os smart grids representam a nova geração dos sistemas elétricos de potência, combinando avanços em computação, sistemas de comunicação, processos distribuídos e inteligência artificial para prover novas funcionalidades quanto ao acompanhamento em tempo real da demanda e do consumo de energia elétrica, gerenciamento em larga escala de geradores distribuídos, entre outras, a partir de um sistema de controle distribuído sobre a rede elétrica. Esta estrutura modifica profundamente a maneira como se realiza o planejamento e a operação de sistemas elétricos nos dias de hoje, em especial os de distribuição, e há interessantes possibilidades de pesquisa e desenvolvimento possibilitada pela busca da implementação destas funcionalidades. Com esse cenário em vista, o presente trabalho utiliza uma abordagem baseada no uso de sistemas multiagentes para simular esse tipo de sistema de distribuição de energia elétrica, considerando opções de controle distintas. A utilização da tecnologia de sistemas multiagentes para a simulação é baseada na conceituação de smart grids como um sistema distribuído, algo também realizado nesse trabalho. Para validar a proposta, foram simuladas três funcionalidades esperadas dessas redes elétricas: classificação de cargas não-lineares; gerenciamento de perfil de tensão; e reconfiguração topológica com a finalidade de reduzir as perdas elétricas. Todas as modelagens e desenvolvimentos destes estudos estão aqui relatados. Por fim, o trabalho se propõe a identificar os sistemas multiagentes como uma tecnologia a ser empregada tanto para a pesquisa, quanto para implementação dessas redes elétricas.