Multiple Contracts with Simple Interest: The Case of Constant Payments

Repeatedly, the Brazilian Judicial System has determined that home-financing contracts written in terms of compound interest, particularly in the case of constant payments, should be substituted by contracts specifying simple interest. This has resulted in the adoption of a procedure known as the “Gauss’ Method”. It is shown that the implementation of a multiple contracts’ version may imply substantial fiscal gains, depending on the financing institution opportunity cost

Programa Bolsa Família & a redução da miséria no Brasil

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as causas da redução da miséria no Brasil do século XXI, a partir dos efeitos do Programa Bolsa Família (PBF). A análise parte de dois eixos: estado de bem-estar social & políticas focalizadas e crescimento econômico & mudanças estruturais. Para tal, os dois eixos foram apresentados e discutidos, bem como as características do Programa e sua evolução. Na sequência, a partir de revisão sintética da bibliografia, buscou-se uma avaliação dos micro e macro determinantes da redução da miséria e qual o papel do PBF nesta trajetória. Os resultados da análise corroboram a ideia de que o Programa obteve êxito enquanto parte central de uma política de redução da miséria e de que isto se deveu a esta crescente expansão e interligação das políticas focalizadas e ao quadro sócio-econômico de então (mais compreensível aos policymakers após o esforço de consolidação do CadÚnico em função do PBF). Por outro lado, a periodicidade no reajuste das linhas e benefícios e a expansão com qualidade dos serviços universais associados às condicionalidades do PBF, como educação e saúde, estiveram aquém do possível e se mostram fundamentais para a continuidade do sucesso do Programa e para que se atinja seu objetivo de erradicação do ciclo da pobreza, bem como o progressivo esforço de busca ativa. Ainda, os efeitos PBF sobre o crescimento e distribuição da renda se mostraram significativos para cada R$1 gasto, porém baixos quando se fala em termos absolutos devido ao pequeno peso relativo do PBF no orçamento. Assim, entende-se que a avaliação das políticas sociais deve ir além dos paradigmas de eficiência da focalização e que uma expansão de um arranjo misto de políticas de bem-estar integradas a uma política de desenvolvimento é recomendável para que se possa enfrentar os desafios sociais que ainda persistem

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE PREVENTION OF DISEASES - LITERATURE REVIEW

Objetivo: Analisar a produção cientifica quanto ao atendimento de enfermagem por contato telefônico como contribuição para a promoção da saúde e prevenção de agravos da clientela. Método: caracteriza-se como uma revisão de literatura tendo sido acessado a Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde cujos resultados foram analisados mediante a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Resultados: Foram identificadas 46 produções, sendo que três estavam disponíveis online na integra e articulado à temática. As produções científicas apontaram para um resultado positivo em relação ao uso da telenfermagem. Contudo o uso da Tecnologia da Comunicação e Informação (TCI) é mais evidente em pacientes que apresentam alguma doença crônica. Conclusão: A telenfermagem contribui para a prevenção de agravos, proteção específica, diagnóstico precoce, tratamento e assistência social da clientela sempre tendo por referência um agravo. Reconhece-se que a telenfermagem poderá ser mais efetiva quando associada a outros tipos de TCI. Descritores: Telenfermagem, Cuidados de Enfermagem e Monitorament

Critérios de formação de carteiras de ativos através de hierarchical clusters

This paper has as main objective to present and to test a tool of multivariate statistics in financial models. This methodology, known as clusters analysis, separates the observations in groups through its determined characteristic, in contrast of the traditional methodology, which is only the order through quantiles. This tool was applied in 213 shares negotiated in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), separating to the groups for size and book-to-market. Later, the new portfolios were applied in the Fama and French Model (1996), comparing the results in a portfolio formation for quintiles and for cluster analysis. Better results were found in the second methodology. The authors conclude that the cluster analysis can be more adequate, because tends to form more homogeneous groups, being useful its application for portfolio formation, and for financial theory

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE PREVENTION OF DISEASES - LITERATURE REVIEW

Objetivo: Analisar a produção cientifica quanto ao atendimento de enfermagem por contato telefônico como contribuição para a promoção da saúde e prevenção de agravos da clientela. Método: caracteriza-se como uma revisão de literatura tendo sido acessado a Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde cujos resultados foram analisados mediante a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Resultados: Foram identificadas 46 produções, sendo que três estavam disponíveis online na integra e articulado à temática. As produções científicas apontaram para um resultado positivo em relação ao uso da telenfermagem. Contudo o uso da Tecnologia da Comunicação e Informação (TCI) é mais evidente em pacientes que apresentam alguma doença crônica. Conclusão: A telenfermagem contribui para a prevenção de agravos, proteção específica, diagnóstico precoce, tratamento e assistência social da clientela sempre tendo por referência um agravo. Reconhece-se que a telenfermagem poderá ser mais efetiva quando associada a outros tipos de TCI. Descritores: Telenfermagem, Cuidados de Enfermagem e Monitorament

Critérios de formação de carteiras de ativos através de hierarchical clusters

This paper has as main objective to present and to test a tool of multivariate statistics in financial models. This methodology, known as clusters analysis, separates the observations in groups through its determined characteristic, in contrast of the traditional methodology, which is only the order through quantiles. This tool was applied in 213 shares negotiated in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), separating to the groups for size and book-to-market. Later, the new portfolios were applied in the Fama and French Model (1996), comparing the results in a portfolio formation for quintiles and for cluster analysis. Better results were found in the second methodology. The authors conclude that the cluster analysis can be more adequate, because tends to form more homogeneous groups, being useful its application for portfolio formation, and for financial theory

Identification of novel SNPs of ABCD1, ABCD2, ABCD3, and ABCD4 genes in patients with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) based on comprehensive resequencing and association studies with ALD phenotypes

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is an X-linked disorder affecting primarily the white matter of the central nervous system occasionally accompanied by adrenal insufficiency. Despite the discovery of the causative gene, ABCD1, no clear genotype–phenotype correlations have been established. Association studies based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified by comprehensive resequencing of genes related to ABCD1 may reveal genes modifying ALD phenotypes. We analyzed 40 Japanese patients with ALD. ABCD1 and ABCD2 were analyzed using a newly developed microarray-based resequencing system. ABCD3 and ABCD4 were analyzed by direct nucleotide sequence analysis. Replication studies were conducted on an independent French ALD cohort with extreme phenotypes. All the mutations of ABCD1 were identified, and there was no correlation between the genotypes and phenotypes of ALD. SNPs identified by the comprehensive resequencing of ABCD2, ABCD3, and ABCD4 were used for association studies. There were no significant associations between these SNPs and ALD phenotypes, except for the five SNPs of ABCD4, which are in complete disequilibrium in the Japanese population. These five SNPs were significantly less frequently represented in patients with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) than in controls in the Japanese population (p = 0.0468), whereas there were no significant differences in patients with childhood cerebral ALD (CCALD). The replication study employing these five SNPs on an independent French ALD cohort, however, showed no significant associations with CCALD or pure AMN. This study showed that ABCD2, ABCD3, and ABCD4 are less likely the disease-modifying genes, necessitating further studies to identify genes modifying ALD phenotypes

Assessment of predictive models for chlorophyll-a concentration of a tropical lake

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study assesses four predictive ecological models; Fuzzy Logic (FL), Recurrent Artificial Neural Network (RANN), Hybrid Evolutionary Algorithm (HEA) and multiple linear regressions (MLR) to forecast chlorophyll- a concentration using limnological data from 2001 through 2004 of unstratified shallow, oligotrophic to mesotrophic tropical Putrajaya Lake (Malaysia). Performances of the models are assessed using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), correlation coefficient (r), and Area under the Receiving Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Chlorophyll-a have been used to estimate algal biomass in aquatic ecosystem as it is common in most algae. Algal biomass indicates of the trophic status of a water body. Chlorophyll- a therefore, is an effective indicator for monitoring eutrophication which is a common problem of lakes and reservoirs all over the world. Assessments of these predictive models are necessary towards developing a reliable algorithm to estimate chlorophyll- a concentration for eutrophication management of tropical lakes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Same data set was used for models development and the data was divided into two sets; training and testing to avoid biasness in results. FL and RANN models were developed using parameters selected through sensitivity analysis. The selected variables were water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and Secchi depth. Dissolved oxygen, selected through stepwise procedure, was used to develop the MLR model. HEA model used parameters selected using genetic algorithm (GA). The selected parameters were pH, Secchi depth, dissolved oxygen and nitrate nitrogen. RMSE, r, and AUC values for MLR model were (4.60, 0.5, and 0.76), FL model were (4.49, 0.6, and 0.84), RANN model were (4.28, 0.7, and 0.79) and HEA model were (4.27, 0.7, and 0.82) respectively. Performance inconsistencies between four models in terms of performance criteria in this study resulted from the methodology used in measuring the performance. RMSE is based on the level of error of prediction whereas AUC is based on binary classification task.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, HEA produced the best performance in terms of RMSE, r, and AUC values. This was followed by FL, RANN, and MLR.</p

Cardiac-Oxidized Antigens Are Targets of Immune Recognition by Antibodies and Potential Molecular Determinants in Chagas Disease Pathogenesis

Trypanosoma cruzi elicits reactive oxygen species (ROS) of inflammatory and mitochondrial origin in infected hosts. In this study, we examined ROS-induced oxidative modifications in the heart and determined whether the resultant oxidized cardiac proteins are targets of immune response and of pathological significance in Chagas disease. Heart biopsies from chagasic mice, rats and human patients exhibited, when compared to those from normal controls, a substantial increase in protein 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), malondialdehyde (MDA), carbonyl, and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) adducts. To evaluate whether oxidized proteins gain antigenic properties, heart homogenates or isolated cardiomyocytes were oxidized in vitro and one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE)/Western blotting (WB) was performed to investigate the proteomic oxidative changes and recognition of oxidized proteins by sera antibodies in chagasic rodents (mice, rats) and human patients. Human cardiomyocytes exhibited LD50 sensitivity to 30 µM 4-HNE and 100 µM H2O2 at 6 h and 12 h, respectively. In vitro oxidation with 4-HNE or H2O2 resulted in a substantial increase in 4-HNE- and carbonyl-modified proteins that correlated with increased recognition of cardiac (cardiomyocytes) proteins by sera antibodies of chagasic rodents and human patients. 2D-GE/Western blotting followed by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis to identify cardiac proteins that were oxidized and recognized by human chagasic sera yielded 82 unique proteins. We validated the 2D-GE results by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and WB and demonstrated that oxidation of recombinant titin enhanced its immunogenicity and recognition by sera antibodies from chagasic hosts (rats and humans). Treatment of infected rats with phenyl-α-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN, antioxidant) resulted in normalized immune detection of cardiac proteins associated with control of cardiac pathology and preservation of heart contractile function in chagasic rats. We conclude that ROS-induced, cardiac-oxidized antigens are targets of immune recognition by antibodies and molecular determinants for pathogenesis during Chagas disease

Epigenomic and transcriptomic approaches in the post-genomic era: path to novel targets for diagnosis and therapy of the ischemic heart?

Despite advances in myocardial reperfusion therapies, acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and consequent ischemic heart failure represent the number one cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies. Although different therapeutic interventions have been shown beneficial in preclinical settings, an effective cardioprotective or regenerative therapy has yet to be successfully introduced in the clinical arena. Given the complex pathophysiology of the ischemic heart, large scale, unbiased, global approaches capable of identifying multiple branches of the signaling networks activated in the ischemic/reperfused heart might be more successful in the search for novel diagnostic or therapeutic targets. High-throughput techniques allow high-resolution, genome-wide investigation of genetic variants, epigenetic modifications and associated gene expression profiles. Platforms such as proteomics and metabolomics (not described here in detail) also offer simultaneous readouts of hundreds of proteins and metabolites. Isolated omics analyses usually provide Big Data requiring large data storage, advanced computational resources and complex bioinformatics tools. The possibility of integrating different omics approaches gives new hope to better understand the molecular circuitry activated by myocardial ischemia, putting it in the context of the human "diseasome".Since modifications of cardiac gene expression have been consistently linked to pathophysiology of the ischemic heart, the integration of epigenomic and transcriptomic data seems a promising approach to identify crucial disease networks. Thus, the scope of this Position Paper will be to highlight potentials and limitations of these approaches, and to provide recommendations to optimize the search for novel diagnostic or therapeutic targets for acute ischemia/reperfusion injury and ischemic heart failure in the post-genomic era