The cost and cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies to expand treatment to HIV-positive South Africans: scale economies and outreach costs

This repository item contains a single issue of the Health and Development Discussion Papers, an informal working paper series that began publishing in 2002 by the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development. It is intended to help the Center and individual authors to disseminate work that is being prepared for journal publication or that is not appropriate for journal publication but might still have value to readers.The South African government is currently discussing various alternative approaches to the further expansion of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in public-sector facilities. We used the EMOD-HIV model, a HIV transmission model which projects South African HIV incidence and prevalence and ARV treatment by age-group for alternative combinations of treatment eligibility criteria and testing, to generate 12 epidemiological scenarios. Using data from our own bottom-up cost analyses in South Africa, we separate outpatient cost into nonscale- dependent costs (drugs and laboratory tests) and scale-dependent cost (staff, space, equipment and overheads) and model the cost of production according to the expected future number and size of clinics. On the demand side, we include the cost of creating and sustaining the projected incremental demand for testing and treatment. Previous research with EMOD-HIV has shown that more vigorous recruitment of patients with CD4 counts less than 350 is an advantageous policy over a five-year horizon. Over 20 years, however, the model assumption that a person on treatment is 92% less infectious improves the cost-effectiveness of higher eligibility thresholds, averting HIV infections for between $1,700 and$2,800, while more vigorous expansion under the current guidelines would cost more than $7,500 per incremental HIV infection averted. Based on analysis of the sensitivity of the results to 1,728 alternative parameter combinations at each of four discount rates, we conclude that better knowledge of the behavioral elasticities could reduce the uncertainty of cost estimates by a factor of 4 to 10

Extension of Project Other Kosmos with Modularization Support

Cílem této práce je rozšíření projektu Other Kosmos o možnost modularizace, která zlehčí práci programátorů pracujícím s tímto projektem. V práci je obsažena analýza, návrh a implementace pomocí které bylo tohoto cíle dosaženo. Projekt Other Kosmos je implementován v jazyce Java a je také velmi založen na knihovně LibGDX.The aim of this work is to expand the Other Kosmos project with the ability of modularization, which will make the work of programmers working with this project much easier. The thesis contains an analysis, design and implementation by means of which this goal has been achieved. The Other Kosmos project is implemented in Java and is also heavily based on the LibGDX library.460 - Katedra informatikyvýborn

Secure Views for Collaborative Modeling

Model-based systems engineering necessitates effective collaboration between different collaborators, teams, and stakeholders. Traditional approaches used for managing concurrent code-based development do not naturally extend to collaborative modeling, which implies novel challenges. We present a collaborative modeling framework that provides secure views with precisely defined model access to each collaborator by rule-based model-level access control policies

Sistema de recomendação musical com base em parâmetro fisiológico : frequência cardíaca

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade UnB Gama, Engenharia Eletrônica, 2021.Ao longo da história, diversas aplicações se deram a partir do estudo da música e sua correlação com diversas áreas do conhecimento. Sabe-se que o gosto musical é algo subjetivo, que varia de indivíduo a indivíduo. Por outro lado, à medida em que se havia aprofundamento em conceitos, mais aspectos objetivos foram sendo destacados. A partir do conhecimento da natureza física do som, compreendeu-se melhor as relações entre as notas musicais. Compreendeu-se que há conjuntos de sons tocados simultaneamente - acordes - que soam agradavelmente (consonantes) e, outros, dissonantemente. A partir de avanço nos conhecimentos matemáticos, em especial com relação à progressão geométrica, na Idade Média foi criado o sistema acústico (escala musical) temperado, base da música ocidental até os dias de hoje. Posteriormente, a partir da análise de Fourier, compreendeuse melhor o que causa a diferença entre o som de um instrumento e outro; e isso foi a base para a criação dos instrumentos virtuais, aplicação muito utilizada atualmente. Paralelamente a isso, viu-se uma crescente nos estudos acerca da relação entre a música e reações fisiológicas. Atribui-se à música influência na alteração dos estados emocionais, bem como relaxamento. Tem-se relatos da utilização dela para aliviar o estresse pré e pós operatório, possibilitando a redução de doses de medicamentos como ansiolíticos e sedativos. Tem-se também a ocorrência de influência positiva na prática de atividades físicas e esportes, como estimulante. Outra importante área na qual ela tem sido explorada como aplicação, é na produtividade. A partir do conceito de mascaramento sonoro - aplicação de um som de fundo a fim de se reduzir os efeitos distrativos referentes a ruídos de fundo - a música pode ser uma importante ferramenta para a redução de distrações no trabalho. Vê-se também o desenvolvimento de sistemas de reprodução musicais com características cada vez mais personalizadas a cada usuário. Diante de tão vasta gama de aplicações, e sendo essas em áreas tão distintas, necessita-se de clara compreensão de quais características musicais estão relacionadas a cada um desses usos distintos. O presente trabalho busca apresentar tais fundamentos e traz a implementação de um sistema de recomendação musical baseado em parâmetro fisiológico: frequência cardíaca, projetado para aplicações no âmbito da produtividade. Espera-se que tais recomendações personalizadas, fundamentadas na bibliografia apresentada, contribuam para a redução de distrações e aumento da produtividade no trabalho.Throughout history, several applications have been made from the study of music and its correlation with different areas of knowledge. It is known that musical taste is something subjective, which varies from individual to individual. On the other hand, as there was a deepening of concepts, more objective aspects were highlighted. From the knowledge of the physical nature of sound, the relationships between musical notes were better understood. It was understood that there are sets of sounds played simultaneously - chords - that sound pleasantly (consonants) and, others, dissonantly. Based on advances in mathematical knowledge, especially in relation to geometric progression, in the Middle Ages the tempered acoustic system (musical scale) was created, the basis of Western music until today. Subsequently, from the Fourier analysis, it was better understood what causes the difference between the sound of one instrument and another; and that was the basis for the creation of virtual instruments, an application widely used today. Parallel to this, there has been an increase in studies on the relationship between music and physiological reactions. Music is attributed to influence in the alteration of emotional states, as well as relaxation. There are reports of its use to relieve pre- and postoperative stress, making it possible to reduce doses of medications such as anxiolytics and sedatives. There is also a positive influence on the practice of physical activities and sports, as a stimulant. Another important area in which it has been explored as an application is in productivity. Based on the concept of sound masking - application of a background sound in order to reduce distracting effects related to background noise - music can be an important tool for reducing distractions at work. We can also see the development of musical reproduction systems with increasingly personalized characteristics for each user. In view of such a wide range of applications, and these being in such different areas, a clear understanding of which musical characteristics are related to each of these distinct uses is needed. The present work seeks to present these fundamentals and implements a musical recommendation system based on a physiological parameter: heartbeat, designed for applications in the scope of productivity. Such personalized recommendations, based on the presented bibliography, are expected to contribute to reducing distractions and increasing productivity at work

LIM kinase inhibitors disrupt mitotic microtubule organization and impair tumor cell proliferation

The actin and microtubule cytoskeletons are critically important for cancer cell proliferation, and drugs that target microtubules are widely-used cancer therapies. However, their utility is compromised by toxicities due to dose and exposure. To overcome these issues, we characterized how inhibition of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton regulatory LIM kinases could be used in drug combinations to increase efficacy. A previously-described LIMK inhibitor (LIMKi) induced dose-dependent microtubule alterations that resulted in significant mitotic defects, and increased the cytotoxic potency of microtubule polymerization inhibitors. By combining LIMKi with 366 compounds from the GSK Published Kinase Inhibitor Set, effective combinations were identified with kinase inhibitors including EGFR, p38 and Raf. These findings encouraged a drug discovery effort that led to development of CRT0105446 and CRT0105950, which potently block LIMK1 and LIMK2 activity in vitro, and inhibit cofilin phosphorylation and increase αTubulin acetylation in cells. CRT0105446 and CRT0105950 were screened against 656 cancer cell lines, and rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma and kidney cancer cells were identified as significantly sensitive to both LIMK inhibitors. These large-scale screens have identified effective LIMK inhibitor drug combinations and sensitive cancer types. In addition, the LIMK inhibitory compounds CRT0105446 and CRT0105950 will enable further development of LIMK-targeted cancer therapy

Human Cep192 Is Required for Mitotic Centrosome and Spindle Assembly

SummaryAs cells enter mitosis, centrosomes dramatically increase in size and ability to nucleate microtubules. This process, termed centrosome maturation, is driven by the accumulation and activation of γ-tubulin and other proteins that form the pericentriolar material on centrosomes during G2/prophase. Here, we show that the human centrosomal protein, Cep192 (centrosomal protein of 192 kDa), is an essential component of the maturation machinery. Specifically, we have found that siRNA depletion of Cep192 results in a complete loss of functional centrosomes in mitotic but not interphase cells. In mitotic cells lacking Cep192, microtubules become organized around chromosomes but rarely acquire stable bipolar configurations. These cells contain normal numbers of centrioles but cannot assemble γ-tubulin, pericentrin, or other pericentriolar proteins into an organized PCM. Alternatively, overexpression of Cep192 results in the formation of multiple, extracentriolar foci of γ-tubulin and pericentrin. Together, our findings support the hypothesis that Cep192 stimulates the formation of the scaffolding upon which γ-tubulin ring complexes and other proteins involved in microtubule nucleation and spindle assembly become functional during mitosis

UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)

Abstract In this paper we advocate the study of local street markets to explore fundamental issues about the relationship between economy and society. This relationship evolves over time and we believe that it has been recast in an age of increasing cultural diversity and neoliberal state regulatory structures. In street markets we can see how diversity and the nature of economic transactions become mutually constitutive. We argue that cultural diversity propels local markets, while everyday interactions in markets influence intercultural relationships. These complex processes are affected by the spatiality of markets and the regulatory environments within which they operate. We conclude by framing a research program on street markets and discuss a number of methodological complications that would need to be addressed in this endeavour

A Neural Network Strategy Applied in Autonomous Mobile Localization

In this article, a new approach to the problem of indoor navigation based on ultrasonic sensors is presented, where artificial neural networks (ANN) are used to estimate the position and orientation of a mobile robot.
This approach proposes the use of three Radial Basis Function (RBF) Networks, where environment maps from an ultrasonic sensor and maps synthetically generated are used to estimate the robot localization.
The mobile robot is mainly characterized by its real time
operation based on the Matlab/Simulink environment, where the
whole necessary tasks for an autonomous navigation are done in a hierarchical and easy reprogramming way. 
Finally, practical results of real time navigation related to robot localization in a known indoor environment are shown