5,499 research outputs found
Public park policies and Carsharing Systems / PolÃticas de estacionamento público para sistemas de compartilhamento de veÃculos
This article addresses the topic of car sharing and public policies related to the regulation of parking areas for the system. The article aims to identify the practices that contribute to a better performance of sharing systems and the legal frameworks of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro that can regulate their implementation..Â
Seasonal variability and coastal upwelling near Cape Santa Marta (Brazil)
The Santa Marta Grande Cape (CSM) area, a relatively steep and narrow continental shelf off southeast Brazil, is under the influence of the Brazil Current and intense seasonal variations of the wind field that affect the composition of water masses and their circulation. Hydrographic data, satellite-derived wind stress, and numerical simulations are used to characterize the seasonal and shorter period variability of the oceanographic conditions off CSM, in the area between 27S and 30S. The study is focused on the upwelling episodes and the dynamical mechanisms associated with these events. Field data and numerical results indicate significant seasonal changes in the oceanographic structure, the water mass composition, and the dynamical balance. During fall and winter, when southwesterly winds prevail and the frequency of meteorological frontal systems increases, the region is characterized by waters of continental origin, the Plata Plume Water (PPW). During spring and summer, deeper waters reach the surface layer due to the action of northeasterly winds. Coastal upwelling events are revealed by surface temperature minima observed south of CSM. Synoptic data show that these events occur in pulses associated with changes in the wind direction. Analysis of the numerical results shows that this particular location of the upwelling band results from the synergy between shelf-break upwelling and the regional shelf circulation induced by the northeasterly winds, both of which are modulated by changes in the coastline orientation and shelf width.Fil: Campos, Paula C.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Moller Jr., Osmar O.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Piola, Alberto Ricardo. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografia Naval; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Palma, Elbio Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Centro CientÃfico Tecnológico BahÃa Blanca. Instituto Argentino de OceanografÃa (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentin
Feasibility, drug safety, and effectiveness of etiological treatment programs for Chagas disease in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia: 10-year experience of Médecins Sans Frontières
BACKGROUND: Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is a zoonotic or anthropozoonotic disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Predominantly affecting populations in poor areas of Latin America, medical care for this neglected disease is often lacking. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has provided diagnostic and treatment services for Chagas disease since 1999. This report describes 10 years of field experience in four MSF programs in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia, focusing on feasibility protocols, safety of drug therapy, and treatment effectiveness. METHODOLOGY: From 1999 to 2008, MSF provided free diagnosis, etiological treatment, and follow-up care for patients <18 years of age seropositive for T. cruzi in Yoro, Honduras (1999-2002); Olopa, Guatemala (2003-2006); Entre RÃos, Bolivia (2002-2006); and Sucre, Bolivia (2005-2008). Essential program components guaranteeing feasibility of implementation were information, education, and communication (IEC) at the community and family level; vector control; health staff training; screening and diagnosis; treatment and compliance, including family-based strategies for early detection of adverse events; and logistics. Chagas disease diagnosis was confirmed by testing blood samples using two different diagnostic tests. T. cruzi-positive patients were treated with benznidazole as first-line treatment, with appropriate counseling, consent, and active participation from parents or guardians for daily administration of the drug, early detection of adverse events, and treatment withdrawal, when necessary. Weekly follow-up was conducted, with adverse events recorded to assess drug safety. Evaluations of serological conversion were carried out to measure treatment effectiveness. Vector control, entomological surveillance, and health education activities were carried out in all projects with close interaction with national and regional programs. RESULTS: Total numbers of children and adolescents tested for T. cruzi in Yoro, Olopa, Entre RÃos, and Sucre were 24,471, 8,927, 7,613, and 19,400, respectively. Of these, 232 (0.9%), 124 (1.4%), 1,475 (19.4%), and 1,145 (5.9%) patients, respectively, were diagnosed as seropositive. Patients were treated with benznidazole, and early findings of seroconversion varied widely between the Central and South American programs: 87.1% and 58.1% at 18 months post-treatment in Yoro and Olopa, respectively; 5.4% by up to 60 months in Entre RÃos; and 0% at an average of 18 months in Sucre. Benznidazole-related adverse events were observed in 50.2% and 50.8% of all patients treated in Yoro and Olopa, respectively, and 25.6% and 37.9% of patients in Entre RÃos and Sucre, respectively. Most adverse events were mild and manageable. No deaths occurred in the treatment population. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing Chagas disease diagnosis and treatment programs in resource-limited settings, including remote rural areas, while addressing the limitations associated with drug-related adverse events. The variability in apparent treatment effectiveness may reflect differences in patient and parasite populations, and illustrates the limitations of current treatments and measures of efficacy. New treatments with improved safety profiles, pediatric formulations of existing and new drugs, and a faster, reliable test of cure are all urgently needed
Uma espiral feminina: mulheres migrantes no território e no cinema brasileiros
O objetivo deste trabalho é buscar potencialidades na aproximação entre Cinema e Geografia para tratar o tema da migração feminina no Brasil contemporâneo. Buscamos analisar, a partir de quatro filmes brasileiros, a atual complexidade de tipos, fluxos e motivações das migrantes. Também ressaltamos como os papéis sociais femininos impactam nas experiências e na liberdade de tomada de decisão das personagens mulheres
Thin-Film Metamaterials called Sculptured Thin Films
Morphology and performance are conjointed attributes of metamaterials, of
which sculptured thin films (STFs) are examples. STFs are assemblies of
nanowires that can be fabricated from many different materials, typically via
physical vapor deposition onto rotating substrates. The curvilinear--nanowire
morphology of STFs is determined by the substrate motions during fabrication.
The optical properties, especially, can be tailored by varying the morphology
of STFs. In many cases prototype devices have been fabricated for various
optical, thermal, chemical, and biological applications.Comment: to be published in Proc. ICTP School on Metamaterials (Augsut 2009,
Sibiu, Romania
Connection Between Type A and E Factorizations and Construction of Satellite Algebras
Recently, we introduced a new class of symmetry algebras, called satellite
algebras, which connect with one another wavefunctions belonging to different
potentials of a given family, and corresponding to different energy
eigenvalues. Here the role of the factorization method in the construction of
such algebras is investigated. A general procedure for determining an so(2,2)
or so(2,1) satellite algebra for all the Hamiltonians that admit a type E
factorization is proposed. Such a procedure is based on the known relationship
between type A and E factorizations, combined with an algebraization similar to
that used in the construction of potential algebras. It is illustrated with the
examples of the generalized Morse potential, the Rosen-Morse potential, the
Kepler problem in a space of constant negative curvature, and, in each case,
the conserved quantity is identified. It should be stressed that the method
proposed is fairly general since the other factorization types may be
considered as limiting cases of type A or E factorizations.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, no figure, to be published in J. Phys.
Results from the Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) Experiment
The Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) is an experiment designed to measure cosmic
microwave background (CMB) polarization at large angular scales (). It
operated from the ACT site at 5190~m elevation in northern Chile at 145 GHz
with a net sensitivity (NEQ) of 41 K. It employed an
ambient-temperature sapphire half-wave plate rotating at 2.55 Hz to modulate
the incident polarization signal and reduce systematic effects. We report here
on the analysis of data from a 2400 deg patch of sky centered at
declination and right ascension . We perform a blind
analysis. After unblinding, we find agreement with the Planck TE and EE
measurements on the same region of sky. We marginally detect polarized dust
emission and give an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of (95%
cl) with the equivalent of 100 on-sky days of observation. We also present a
new measurement of the polarization of Tau A and introduce new methods
associated with HWP-based observations.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figure
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