Reinforcing Innovation Effectiveness. A New Methodological Approach for Policy Evaluation

Innovation is considered an important competitiveness factor for companies and a source of wealth for economies. Therefore it is an important subject of policy intervention and regional development. The understanding of what innovation is has evolved in the past decades away from a purely technological definition – of new products and processes introduced on the market, to a wider one including organizational and marketing aspects or incremental innovation in low tech production companies and more recently, innovation in services (European Commission, 2008). Today, innovation is present in the discourse of politicians and business leaders. They see innovation as a positive value and as a solution to solve social problems and company’s competitiveness, so organizations are encouraged to adopt innovative practices through incentives and innovation policies. The main purpose of this paper is to propose a new methodological approach for public policy supporting innovation evaluation in a territorial based analysis. A new methodology which intended to contribute to strengthen and reinforcing the innovation effectiveness in firms and territory development resulting from support of public mechanisms

Airborne Pathogens Transport in an Aircraft Cabin

Airborne pathogens can spread within an aircraft cabin from sneezing, coughing or breathing of a sick passenger. This paper reports a 3D numerical study on the transport of airborne pathogens inside Boeing 767 cabin. After cough or sneeze of an infected passenger, the entire unsteady pathogen dispersion process is simulated. Effects under study include the direction of coughing on the pathogens propagation and the spreading times from infected to hosts passengers

GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS AND PROTEOGLYCANS IN PALMAR FASCIA OF PATIENTS WITH DUPUYTREN

Objective: To evaluate and compare the behavior of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in Dupuytren disease (DD). Methods: This is an experimental study with 23 patients diagnosed with DD. Tissue collected through fasciectomy with incision type Brunner or McCash were evaluated by electrophoresis for identification of GAGs. The quantification was carried out by immunofluorescence and dosage of proteins for different types of glycosaminoglycans. The results were expressed in percentage and statistically evaluated. Results: A significant increase was observed through eletrophoresis in GAGs, as compared to the control (p<0.05). Immunofluorescence of hyaluronic acid was reduced (23 times) when compared to the control (p<0.0001). Conclusion: An increase of sulfated GAGs in Dupuytren's disease, mainly dermatan sulfate, was evident from our results, as well as a pronounced decrease of hyaluronic acid in the palmar aponeurosis from the same patients.Univ Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Orthoped & Traumatol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Orthoped & Traumatol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Orthoped & Traumatol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Orthoped & Traumatol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Daily Optical Coherence Tomography Examinations after First Antivascular Endothelial Growth Factor Injections: An Interventional Case Series

Purpose. To evaluate daily spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) changes in naive-treatment patients with diagnosis of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treated with intravitreous bevacizumab (1.25 mg), during a 30-day follow-up period. Methods. In prospective, interventional study, SD-OCT was performed daily for 30 days after the first intravitreal injection. The baseline, initial-decrease, minimal, and final central retinal thicknesses (CRTs) were assessed. Results. Nine eyes of nine patients with neovascular AMD were enrolled. The mean baseline CRT was 625.3±182.5 μm, and the mean final CRT was 383.4±163.0 μm (mean difference, 206.1±167.6 μm), a difference that reached significance (P=0.006). After the first injection, the initial decrease in the CRT was seen as an average of one day after injection (mean CRT, 503.6±189.10 μm; P=0.0431). The speed of the reduction in the CRT tended to decrease by day 17. The mean CRT was 336.5±105.44 μm and the mean minimal CRT on day 30 was 320.75±96.38 μm. Conclusion. The CRT decreased early after the first injection. We observed a tendency for reductions in the speed with which the CRT decreased by day 17 after the first injection, which may affect retreatment regime

Magnitude, temporal trends, and projections of the global prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Global and regional prevalence estimates for blindness and vision impairment are important for the development of public health policies. We aimed to provide global estimates, trends, and projections of global blindness and vision impairment. Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based datasets relevant to global vision impairment and blindness that were published between 1980 and 2015. We fitted hierarchical models to estimate the prevalence (by age, country, and sex), in 2015, of mild visual impairment (presenting visual acuity worse than 6/12 to 6/18 inclusive), moderate to severe visual impairment (presenting visual acuity worse than 6/18 to 3/60 inclusive), blindness (presenting visual acuity worse than 3/60), and functional presbyopia (defined as presenting near vision worse than N6 or N8 at 40 cm when best-corrected distance visual acuity was better than 6/12). Findings: Globally, of the 7·33 billion people alive in 2015, an estimated 36·0 million (80% uncertainty interval [UI] 12·9–65·4) were blind (crude prevalence 0·48%; 80% UI 0·17–0·87; 56% female), 216·6 million (80% UI 98·5–359·1) people had moderate to severe visual impairment (2·95%, 80% UI 1·34–4·89; 55% female), and 188·5 million (80% UI 64·5–350·2) had mild visual impairment (2·57%, 80% UI 0·88–4·77; 54% female). Functional presbyopia affected an estimated 1094·7 million (80% UI 581·1–1686·5) people aged 35 years and older, with 666·7 million (80% UI 364·9–997·6) being aged 50 years or older. The estimated number of blind people increased by 17·6%, from 30·6 million (80% UI 9·9–57·3) in 1990 to 36·0 million (80% UI 12·9–65·4) in 2015. This change was attributable to three factors, namely an increase because of population growth (38·4%), population ageing after accounting for population growth (34·6%), and reduction in age-specific prevalence (–36·7%). The number of people with moderate and severe visual impairment also increased, from 159·9 million (80% UI 68·3–270·0) in 1990 to 216·6 million (80% UI 98·5–359·1) in 2015. Interpretation: There is an ongoing reduction in the age-standardised prevalence of blindness and visual impairment, yet the growth and ageing of the world’s population is causing a substantial increase in number of people affected. These observations, plus a very large contribution from uncorrected presbyopia, highlight the need to scale up vision impairment alleviation efforts at all levels

Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990–2020: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Contemporary data on causes of vision impairment and blindness form an important basis for recommendations in public health policies. Refreshment of the Global Vision Database with recently published data sources permitted modeling of cause of vision loss data from 1990 to 2015, further disaggregation by cause, and forecasts to 2020. Methods: Published and unpublished population-based data on the causes of vision impairment and blindness from 1980 to 2015 were systematically analysed. A series of regression models were fit to estimate the proportion of moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI; defined as presenting visual acuity <6/18 but ≥3/60 in the better eye) and blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60 in the better eye) by cause by age, region, and year. Findings: Among the projected global population with MSVI (216.6 million; 80% uncertainty intervals [UI] 98.5-359.1), in 2015 the leading causes thereof are uncorrected refractive error (116.3 million; UI 49.4-202.1), cataract (52.6 million; UI 18.2-109.6), age-related macular degeneration (AMD; 8.4 million; UI 0.9-29.5), glaucoma (4.0 million; UI 0.6-13.3) and diabetic retinopathy (2.6 million; UI 0.2-9.9). In 2015, the leading global causes of blindness were cataract (12.6 million; UI 3.4-28.7) followed by uncorrected refractive error (7.4 million; UI 2.4-14.8) and glaucoma (2.9 million; UI 0.4-9.9), while by 2020, these numbers affected are anticipated to rise to 13.4 million, 8.0 million and 3.2 million, respectively. Cataract and uncorrected refractive error combined contributed to 55% of blindness and 77% of MSVI in adults aged 50 years and older in 2015. World regions varied markedly in the causes of blindness, with a relatively low prevalence of cataract and a relatively high prevalence of AMD as causes for vision loss in the High-income subregions. Blindness due to cataract and diabetic retinopathy was more common among women, while blindness due to glaucoma and corneal opacity was more common among men, with no gender difference related to AMD. Conclusions: The numbers of people affected by the common causes of vision loss have increased substantially as the population increases and ages. Preventable vision loss due to cataract and refractive error (reversible with surgery and spectacle correction respectively), continue to cause the majority of blindness and MSVI in adults aged 50+ years. A massive scale up of eye care provision to cope with the increasing numbers is needed if one is to address avoidable vision loss