Morphology change in nematic membranes induced by defects

The cell membrane is one of the most important structures of living organisms. This is due to the many functions attributed to it such as permeable selectivity, protection, anchoring to the cytoskeleton and so many others. Any change in the shape of the cell membrane may affect directly the properties and abilities. In this article, we study how defects in the liquid crystalline organization of a membrane can change its shape.  For performing this, we consider a membrane with orientational order, i.e., a nematic membrane, which can happen in biological membranes, nematic films and other systems and study how a defect in this order can change the shape of the membrane when the bending rigidity is considered. We find that depending on the ratio of rigidity and elastic constant, buckling of this membrane may happens and turn it into pseudo-spheres

AÇÕES CONJUNTAS E GANHOS COLETIVOS NO APL DE CALÇADOS FEMININOS DE JAÚ (SP)

The objective of this research is to verify that the joint actions carried out between the various actors of the APL - Local Productive Arrangement of Women's Shoes in Jaú generate “collective gains” for producers and provide competitive advantages for the production chain. The methodological approach of this work fits into the exploratory descriptive research. The case study method was used for the development of the research. The results show that, although there is low cooperation between producers, deliberate joint actions (active external economies) between the APL actors generate collective gains and promote competitive advantage in the cluster's productive chain. Local/regional development attracts other companies (subsidiaries) close to the location, generating jobs and income.El objetivo de esta investigación es verificar que las acciones conjuntas realizadas entre los diversos actores del APL (Arreglo Productivo Local) para Zapatos de Mujer en Jaú generen “ganancias colectivas” para los productores y brinden ventajas competitivas para la cadena de producción. El enfoque metodológico de este trabajo se ajusta a la investigación exploratoria descriptiva. El método de estudio de caso se utilizó para el desarrollo de la investigación. Los resultados muestran que, aunque existe poca cooperación entre los productores, las acciones conjuntas deliberadas (economías externas activas) entre los actores de APL generan ganancias colectivas y promueven una ventaja competitiva en la cadena productiva del clúster. El desarrollo local/regional atrae a otras empresas (filiales) a la proximidad de la ubicación, generando empleos e ingresos.O objetivo desta pesquisa é constatar que as ações conjuntas realizadas entre os diversos atores do APL (Arranjo Produtivo Local) de Calçados Femininos de Jaú geram “ganhos coletivos” aos produtores e propiciam vantagens competitivas para a cadeia produtiva. O enfoque metodológico deste trabalho enquadra-se na pesquisa descritiva do tipo exploratória. Utilizou-se o método de estudo de caso para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa. Os resultados apontam que, embora constata-se baixa cooperação entre os produtores, as ações conjuntas deliberadas (economias externas ativas) entre os atores do APL geram ganhos coletivos e promovem vantagem competitiva na cadeia produtiva do aglomerado. O desenvolvimento local/regional atrai outras empresas (subsidiárias) para a proximidade do local, gerando empregos e renda

Smart Cities Maturity Model—A Multicriteria Approach

The concept of smart cities has gained relevance over the past few years. Public managers have been planning investments to turn their cities into smart cities. Maturity models can help managers to monitor the performance of urban indicators; however, these maturity models are not always capable of meeting their proposed goals. In this sense, this research aims to develop a maturity model that ranks the “smartness” of a city based on social and technological indicators. The Smart Cities Maturity Model (MMSC) variables were extracted from ISO’s 37153:2017, 37120:2018, 37107:2019. The MMSC is structured on a hybrid TOPSIS multicriteria decision-making method. In this paper, we modified TOPSIS and used it to generate a synthetic indicator, called smart index, that designates the level of maturity of a real city. For this change to be possible, we fixed some alternatives and changed the positive ideal and negative ideal solution. The methodology is proven to be very efficient in measuring the smart city maturity level, and it can be easily adapted for the upcoming ISOs

Health care logistics: mapping and optimization of patients logistics

Healthcare logistics play an important role in management, being attributed the activities of acquisition, distribution and movement of materials, professionals and patients. This work aims to develop a study, using the healthcare logistics in the movement of patients in the third health region of Paraná, proposing a linear programming problem that will pass through a computational simulation, considering the existing demands and constraints in the system, aiming to optimize the flow of patients from this region. The present study developed four mathematical models, based on demands and constraints followed by linear programming in order to find the best possible solution for the flow of patients from the third health region of the state of Paraná. The study developed reached its goal of optimization, generating an economy in the transportation of patients. Through the analysis of the results, it is concluded that the model that best suits the presented problem is the one of costs minimization, since the one of vehicles presented higher costs. Possibly the model that minimizes the vehicles would bring better results if the vehicles were not outsourced, but of the Ponta Grossa City Hall (PMPG). Was possible to verify the importance of the theme, especially when referring to the flow of patients in the health services due to the lack of studies with this specific approach. Even with the scarcity of data, it is possible to notice the potential for improvements on this patient transport system