Reflexões sobre a relação China e América Latina

O objetivo deste trabalho é o de fornecer elementos para a reflexão sobre a relação entre a China e a América Latina. Nesse sentido, ele está dividido em três seções, além desta breve introdução. Na primeira, discutiremos a linhas gerais da diplomacia chinesa e, em particular, o lugar da América Latina nas prioridades do país. Em segundo lugar, discutiremos como esta relação vem impactando os países da região, buscando identificar aspectos do crescente envolvimento chinês. Por fim, será feita uma análise dos aspectos econômicos da relação, discutindo a evolução dos fluxos comerciais e de capitais.Fil: Cordeiro Pires, Marcos. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho. Facultad de Filosofía E Ciencias-campus de Marilia; BrasilFil: Santillan, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentin

Machine learning and deep learning models applied to photovoltaic production forecasting

The increasing trend in energy demand is higher than the one from renewable generation, in the coming years. One of the greatest sources of consumption are buildings. The energy management of a building by means of the production of photovoltaic energy in situ is a common alternative to improve sustainability in this sector. An efficient trade-off of the photovoltaic source in the fields of Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB), nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) or MicroGrids (MG) requires an accurate forecast of photovoltaic production. These systems constantly generate data that are not used. Artificial Intelligence methods can take advantage of this missing information and provide accurate forecasts in real time. Thus, in this manuscript a comparative analysis is carried out to determine the most appropriate Artificial Intelligence methods to forecast photovoltaic production in buildings. On the one hand, the Machine Learning methods considered are Random Forest (RF), Extreme Gradient Boost (XGBoost), and Support Vector Regressor (SVR). On the other hand, Deep Learning techniques used are Standard Neural Network (SNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The models are checked with data from a real building. The models are validated using normalized Mean Bias Error (nMBE), normalized Root Mean Squared Error (nRMSE), and the coefficient of variation (R2). Standard deviation is also used in conjunction with these metrics. The results show that the models forecast the test set with errors of less than 2.00% (nMBE) and 7.50% (nRMSE) in the case of considering nights, and 4.00% (nMBE) and 11.50% (nRMSE) if nights are not considered. In both situations, the R2 is greater than 0.85 in all models.Universidade de Vigo | Ref. 00VI 131H 641021

Intelligent energy storage management trade-off system applied to Deep Learning predictions

The control of the electrical power supply is one of the key bases to reach the sustainable development goals set by United Nations. The achievement of these objectives encourages a dual strategy of creation and diffusion of renewable energies and other technologies of zero emission. Thus, meet the emerging necessities require, inevitably, a significant transformation of the building sector to improve the design of the electrical infrastructure. This improvement should be linked to advanced techniques that allows the identification of complex patterns in large amount of data, such as Deep Learning ones, in order to mitigate potential uncertainties. Accurate electricity and energy supply prediction models, in combination with storage systems will be reflected directly in efficiency improvements in buildings. In this paper, a branch of Deep Learning models, known as Standard Neural Networks, are used to predict electricity consumption and photovoltaic generation with the purpose of reduce the energy wasted, by managing the storage system using Reinforcement Learning technique. Specifically, Deep Reinforcement Learning is applied using the Deep Q-Learning agent. Furthermore, the accuracy of the predicted variables is measured by means of normalized Mean Bias Error (nMBE), and normalized Root Mean Squared Error (nRMSE). The methodologies developed are validated in an existing building, the School of Mining and Energy Engineering located on the Campus of the University of Vigo.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. TED2021-130677B-I00Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Broadband dispersion compensation using inner cladding modes in photonic crystal fibers

A photonic crystal fiber is optimized for chromatic dispersion compensation by using inner cladding modes. To this end, a photonic-oriented version of the downhill-simplex algorithm is employed. The numerical results show a dispersion profile that accurately compensates the targeted dispersion curve, as well as its dispersion slope. The presented fiber has a simple structure, while radiation losses can be reduced simply by adding a few more air-hole rings. Fabrication tolerances are also considered showing how fabrication inaccuracies effects can be overridden by just adjusting the compensation lengt

Las relaciones China y América Latina en 2015

El trabajo discute las dimensiones políticas y económicas de las relaciones sino-latinoamericanas, con énfasis en el Cono Sur de América Latina. Respecto a la dimensión política, se plantea la evolución del bilateralismo a la conformación del foro China-CELAC. Respecto a la integración económica, se examina la evolución del precio de los commodities exportados por tres países latinoamericanos (Brasil, Argentina y Chile), y el impacto de las exportaciones y la inversión china en las cadenas de valor regionales (industria automotriz)Fil: Cordeiro Pires, Marcos. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Santillan, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; ArgentinaFil: Valenzuela Álvarez, José Luis. Universidad Andrés Bello; Chil

Leave a free country or die for Haiti: on global governance in the case of MINUSTAH

Deixar a pátria livre ou morrer pelo Haiti aborda a global governance a partir do caso da MINUSTAH – Mission des Nations Unis pour la stabilization en Haiti. Analisa, essencialmente, os relatórios do secretário geral das Nações Unidas produzidos entre 2004 e 2014. Reconstitui o processo de desestabilização política e social que conduziu à necessidade dessa missão no Haiti. Leva em consideração a sobreposição de crises locais, regionais e mundiais nesses dez anos e considera a manutenção como genuíno esforço de global governance.Leave a free country or die for Haiti address the global governance from the case of MINUSTAH - Mission des Nations Unis pour la stabilization en Haiti. Analyzes essentially the UN Secretary General’s reports produced between 2004 and 2014. Reconstitutes the process of political and social unrest that led to the need of the mission in Haiti. It takes into account the overlap of local, regional and global crises in these ten years and considers the maintenance effort as genuine global governance

Presentation - Dossier "Brazilian Literature and Work"

O advento do neoliberalismo econômico a partir da década de 1980, com as intervenções de Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan e do chamado Consenso de Washington, enterrou o denominado Estado de bem-estar social, construído a muito custo desde a II Guerra Mundial nos países democráticos ocidentais. As regras da “gouvernementalité”, que outorgavam ao Estado o controle e a ordem social, bem como a responsabilidade de facilitar uma vida econômica plena a cada indivíduo, entraram em crise e o cidadão, agora simples “homo oeconomicus”, passou a ser um “entrepreneur de lui-même”, empresário de si próprio, nas palavras de Foucault. Desse ponto de vista, o trabalho deixou de ser um espaço de autorrealização e de significação do mundo, como propusera, no século XIX, Marx, que foi, ao mesmo tempo, o principal acusador do caráter alienante que o trabalho poderia assumir sob a égide do capitalismo. Devido a isso, a cultura do trabalho transformou-se, com o tempo, numa cultura de revolta contra a globalização, a imigração e os Direitos Humanos: a antessala do populismo que paira hoje por toda a geografia ocidental. Pouco antes da grande recessão mundial (2008–2016), o Brasil teve um inegável desenvolvimento econômico-social que o fazia alinharse com os modelos de Estado de bem-estar, embora com as mazelas históricas próprias (altíssima desigualdade social de partida, racismo sonegado, etc.). A irrupção de propostas políticas neoliberais num país com ainda escassas estruturas sociais financiadas pelo Estado (educação, saúde, comunicações, etc.) e com uma elite político-econômica dominada por uma ideologia do imediatismo – o Brasil ainda como espaço colonial de passagem –, trouxe uma gravíssima crise política, social e econômica. Nesse quadro, o que passaria a unir os cidadãos e cidadãs do país seria a desigualdade, mais acerbada ainda do que noutros países com regimes políticos equiparáveis. A crise atual é também uma crise cultural. O recente episódio do incêndio do Museu Nacional serve de exemplo dessa situação, pois não seria um caso fortuito, mas um projeto consciente de descaso com a educação e o patrimônio cultural, histórico e científico por parte do próprio Estado. A literatura, como instituição, também tem um patrimônio físico a ser conservado – manuscritos, textos autógrafos, primeiras edições, etc. –; no entanto, depende menos da unicidade do objeto para a sua divulgação e recepção. É nesse sentido que a literatura, mesmo num país de letramento precário, pode ser um excelente espelho para, no âmbito da ficção, descrever, criticar e até sonhar as relações que os indivíduos estabelecem com o trabalho. O presentismo do ato de ler traz o passado e o longínquo para a imediata atualidade da pessoa que lê. Resta ao indivíduo estabelecer um diálogo crítico com o texto para ganhar autonomia cultural como pessoa

Literatura e trabalho: entrevista com Luiz Ruffato

Entrevista / Luiz RuffatoInterview / Luiz Ruffat

Detection of Trypanosoma cruzi and Treatment Monitoring by PCR from Dried Blood Spot Samples in Children

Background: Parasitic infections by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) are frequent in children from endemic areas. Specific therapies have been successfully used in pediatric populations to treat this disease. T. cruzi diagnosis should be optimized and become available for any clinical environment.Objective: To study T. cruzi prevalence in children from an area of active transmission and carry out a post-treatment follow-up. To verify the feasibility of detecting DNA ofT. cruzi from dried blood spot.Methods: We analyzed presence of T. cruzi in 78 Aboriginal children (Toba community) that attended to a rural school of Chaco province, Argentina. Serum and whole blood (dried blood spot) were assessed by means of serological techniques and PCR. Positive children received Benznidazole. Diagnosis and post treatment follow-up of T. cruzi infection were performed.Results: The serology assay showed infection in 34 of 78 (43.5%) children studied; PCR was positive in 5/34, displaying parasitemia. Serology remained positive in 28/28 children 120 days post-treatment, while PCR was positive in 18/28 (6/34 children were lost in follow-up). No adverse effects during the treatment were reported.Conclusions: We were able to establish T. cruzi prevalence in the studied population and also to prove the usefulness of dried blood spot for T. cruzi detection using PCR in isolated areas. This method allowed us to verify early treatment failure. Possible causes of this failure are discussed below.</p

Association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly in Brazil, January to May, 2016: preliminary report of a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The microcephaly epidemic, which started in Brazil in 2015, was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO in 2016. We report the preliminary results of a case-control study investigating the association between microcephaly and Zika virus infection during pregnancy. METHODS: We did this case-control study in eight public hospitals in Recife, Brazil. Cases were neonates with microcephaly. Two controls (neonates without microcephaly), matched by expected date of delivery and area of residence, were selected for each case. Serum samples of cases and controls and cerebrospinal fluid samples of cases were tested for Zika virus-specific IgM and by quantitative RT-PCR. Laboratory-confirmed Zika virus infection during pregnancy was defined as detection of Zika virus-specific IgM or a positive RT-PCR result in neonates. Maternal serum samples were tested by plaque reduction neutralisation assay for Zika virus and dengue virus. We estimated crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs using a median unbiased estimator for binary data in an unconditional logistic regression model. We estimated ORs separately for cases with and without radiological evidence of brain abnormalities. FINDINGS: Between Jan 15, 2016, and May 2, 2016, we prospectively recruited 32 cases and 62 controls. 24 (80%) of 30 mothers of cases had Zika virus infection compared with 39 (64%) of 61 mothers of controls (p=0·12). 13 (41%) of 32 cases and none of 62 controls had laboratory-confirmed Zika virus infection; crude overall OR 55·5 (95% CI 8·6-∞); OR 113·3 (95% CI 14·5-∞) for seven cases with brain abnormalities; and OR 24·7 (95% CI 2·9-∞) for four cases without brain abnormalities. INTERPRETATION: Our data suggest that the microcephaly epidemic is a result of congenital Zika virus infection. We await further data from this ongoing study to assess other potential risk factors and to confirm the strength of association in a larger sample size. FUNDING: Brazilian Ministry of Health, Pan American Health Organization, and Enhancing Research Activity in Epidemic Situations