The tidally disturbed luminous compact blue galaxy Mkn 1087 and its surroundings

We present new broad-band optical and near-infrared CCD imaging together with deep optical intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of Mkn 1087 and its surrounding objects. We analyze the morphology and colors of the stellar populations of the brightest objects, some of them star-formation areas, as well as the kinematics, physical conditions and chemical composition of the ionized gas associated with them. Mkn 1087 does not host an Active Galactic Nucleus, but it could be a Luminous Compact Blue Galaxy. Although it was classified as a suspected Wolf-Rayet galaxy, we do not detect the spectral features of these sort of massive stars. Mkn 1087 shows morphological and kinematical features that can be explained assuming that it is in interaction with two nearby galaxies: the bright KPG 103a and a dwarf ($M_B\sim-18$) star-forming companion. We argue that this dwarf companion is not a tidal object but an external galaxy because of its low metallicity [12+log(O/H) = 8.24] with respect to the one derived for Mkn 1087 [12+log(O/H) = 8.57] and its kinematics. Some of the non-stellar objects surrounding Mkn 1087 are connected by bridges of matter with the main body, host star-formation events and show similar abundances despite their different angular distances. These facts, together their kinematics, suggest that they are tidal dwarf galaxies formed from material stripped from Mkn 1087. A bright star-forming region at the south of Mkn 1087 (knot #7) does not show indications of being a tidal galaxy or the product of a merging process as suggested in previous works. We argue that Mkn 1087 and its surroundings should be considered a group of galaxies.Comment: Accepted by A&A, 21 pages, 13 figures, 8 table

Competition analysis in brazilian petroleum exploration and production auctions

Orientadores: Osvair Vidal Trevisan, Boris AsrilhantTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia MecânicaResumo: Há 10 anos da quebra do monopólio para a exploração e produção (E&P) de petróleo no Brasil o mercado se mostrou estável, competitivo e gerando resultados positivos que atraem o interesse das companhias nacionais e estrangeiras a investir no setor de "upstream". O processo de cessão de direitos e obrigações sobre as áreas de E&P é conduzido pela Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás Natural e Bio-combustíveis (ANP) por meio de licitação pública, com regras bem definidas, onde o vencedor assina um contrato de concessão com a ANP. Esta pesquisa apresenta e analisa o histórico destas licitações para áreas de exploração e produção e áreas inativas com acumulações marginais, dentro do cenário econômico brasileiro e do potencial exploratório do país, e compara o desempenho das empresas no Brasil e no Golfo do México Americano, segundo os investimentos realizados para aquisição dessas áreas. Apresenta, ainda, um modelo estocástico para estimava do valor dos blocos desenvolvido a partir das ofertas realizadas para áreas da Bacia de Campos em licitações pretéritas. Para analisar o nível de competição esperado para essas áreas, este estudo descreve também o desenvolvimento de um sistema especialista com a ferramenta Exsys Corvid®, baseado no julgamento de 36 especialistas da indústria do petróleo que trabalham em 20 companhias de pequeno, médio e grande porte. A aplicação desta metodologia permite que estas companhias estimem o nível de competição (alto, moderado, ou baixo) para áreas da Bacia de Campos. Conhecendo o valor das áreas e a estimativa do nível de competição, é possível subsidiar o processo decisório na elaboração de estratégias de oferta que permitam uma melhor alocção financeira dos recursos e a gestão ótima do portfólio exploratório pretendido pela companhiaAbstract: After 10 years of the ending of petroleum exploration and production (E&P) monopoly in Brazil, the market for those activities has shown to be stable and competitive, providing positive results which attracted both national and international investment for the upstream oil and gas sector. The regulatory agency promotes public licensing of E&P areas through a competitive sealed bid auction, whose rules are clear and known in advance by the companies. This research describes and evaluates the historical data for these E&P licensing, as well as for tenders of marginal oilfield accumulations, under the Brazilian economic scenario and the geologic potential of the country. It also compares oil companies performance regarding investment made in acquiring areas in Brazil to those in US-Gulf of Mexico. A stochastic model for block-value estimation is presented and applied to previous data from Campos Basin licensed areas. In order to estimate the level of competition expected for those areas, an expert system was built using Exsys Corvid®, based on the knowledge captured from 36 specialists in Brazilian public licensing working for 20 oil companies. The proposed methodology is applied to the case of Campos Basin areas and showed to properly estimate the levels of competition expected (high, moderate or low in the bid. By knowing the block-value and the expected level of competition, decision makers are better prepared for formulating bidding strategies that can result in better resources allocation and yield a better exploration portfolio managementDoutoradoReservatórios e GestãoDoutor em Ciências e Engenharia de Petróle

Impact of San-mediated Signaling on Glioblastoma and Neuroblastoma Metabolism

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, with an average life expectancy of 15 months. The standard of care for GBM, surgery accompanied by radiation and chemotherapy (temozolomide-TMZ), has not changed in over 10 years illustrating the need for new and efficacious treatments. Therefore, it is imperative to improve our knowledge of GBM physiology to understand the mechanisms driving recurrence and chemoresistance so that more effective therapeutic options can be developed. Mitochondria-cell communication is key to monitor and maintain both mitochondrial and cellular health, and signaling events on the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) have emerged as a crucial signal integration site for cellular responses. Consequently, proteins on the OMM are crucial to determining cellular survival and dictating organelle physiology. Thus, the goal of our current study is to evaluate OMM proteins to determine how alterations in organelle regulation may impact CNS tumor biology. We first measured the concentrations of Bcl-2 family proteins on mitochondria from ten continuous GBM cell lines and correlated the protein levels to IC50values of genotoxic agents TMZ and irinotecan. We found that Bcl-2 levels corresponded to chemoresistance, while increased Bim concentrations promoted chemosensitivity. In contrast to our studies in gynecological cancers, the concentrations of the pro-dysfunction OMM scaffold protein Sab had no impact on chemosensitivity of the GBM cell lines, despite diminished Sab expression in GBM patients. However, we identified a novel truncated variant of Sab in the GBM cell lines. We found that GBM cells expressing only full-length Sab had a slower proliferation rate than those with the variant, which could be attributed to increased glycolysis in GBM cells expressing the Sab variant. To determine if the lack of Sab-mediated apoptosis was consistent across CNS tumors, we analyzed publicly-available patient data and found that Sab expression is down-regulated in neuroblastoma patients, a pediatric malignancy responsible for 12% of childhood cancer deaths. We found that that inhibiting Sab-mediated signaling in human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y cells) enhanced oxidative phosphorylation in a pyruvate dehydrogenase-dependent manner, increased BCl-2 levels (pro-survival), decreased Bim concentrations (pro-apoptotic), and promoted chemoresistance. Furthermore, examination of additional neuroblastoma cells derived from CNS tumors revealed that Sab levels correspond to proliferation rate, metabolic phenotype, and chemosensitivity. Our studies demonstrate the importance of OMM signaling in CNS tumor physiology and emphasizes the importance of cellular context to the outcomes of OMM signaling events

Using Graphic Elicitation to Explore Community College Transfer Student Identity, Development, and Engagement

The focus of this paper is to illustrate the use of graphic elicitation, in the form of a relational map, to explore community college transfer student (CCTS) identity, development, and engagement at four-year institutions. Using graphic elicitation illuminated aspects of CCTSs that they may not have been able to otherwise verbalize, and was used in combination with interview questions designed to capture participants\u27 development and engagement, investigating how they made meaning of their institutional experiences. A constructivist grounded theory approach was applied, given the lack of available literature pertaining to CCTSs in these areas. This paper draws upon and contributes to the current graphic elicitation literature and provides a detailed outline of the study’s research design and thorough justification of the use of a relational map. The interview questions and relational maps worked in tandem to uncover theoretical themes that contributed to findings. The study\u27s methodological approach, design using graphic elicitation, and limitations are discussed in addition to potential future research using graphic elicitation techniques

A Forgotten Composer and His Music: Two Viola Compositions by Arends

The purpose of this document is to explore the viola music of the unknown Russian multi-talented musician Andrei Fedorovich Arends, in his two compositions written for that instrument: the Ballade for viola and piano, Op. 4 (1885) and the Concertino for viola and orchestra, Op. 7 (1886). The first section of the document provides an essential biography of the composer and information about his artistic highlights. The second section is devoted to a formal and stylistic analysis of the Ballade and the Concertino and their musical influences. The final section provides a performance guide to the Concertino, including the author’s own experiences in learning and performing it and some additional technical suggestions from another violist as well

ORAL CYCLOSPORINE AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR INITIAL STANDARD PROPHYLAXIS IN ALLOGENEIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION WHEN INTRAVENOUS FORMULATION IS UNAVAILABLE

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the incidence of acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) between oral and intravenous (IV) initial standard cyclosporine A (CsA) prophylaxis in a tertiary care center in Mexico.Methods: A total of 117 consecutive patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT) were retrospectively analyzed. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of CsA and methotrexate (MTX). CsA was administered IV, until 2005, when it was withdrawn from the market, and CsA was administered orally.Results: Most of the patients were male (55%), with a median age of 33 years (range, 15–63). 92 patients (79%) received CsA orally, and 25 (22%) intravenously. There were no significant differences in CsA concentrations during weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 between the oral and IV group. From the entire cohort, 1 patient (4%) from the IV group and 16 (17%) from the oral group developed aGVHD, respectively. Sex, gender disparity, and HSCT source were statistically associated with aGVHD in the multivariate analysis.Conclusions: Using oral instead of IV CsA for aGVHD prophylaxis is feasible and could be financially efficient; nonetheless, our results showed a higher incidence of aGVHD in the oral group; however, our study has limitations and further prospective studies including a larger cohort are encouraged

Model for macroergonomic intervention in organizations. case study : company dedicated to the manufacture of ceramic products, porcelain and faucets

Una práctica generalizada de las compañías colombianas es la búsqueda de soluciones a problemas presentados durante el ciclo de vida de un producto, enmarcados en tres fases principalmente: 1) la implementación de nuevos productos, 2) el mantenimiento del producto y 3) el acompañamiento durante el ciclo de vida. Dichos problemas se presentan por condiciones como sobrecostos, reprocesos productivos, disponibilidad o adquisición de tecnología deficiente, incumplimiento en tiempos de entrega, faltantes, sobrantes, desbalance de cadenas productivas, accidentes de trabajo, enfermedades de tipo laboral e inconformidades en clientes internos y externos. Este trabajo busca estructurar un modelo de intervención desde el DISEÑO y la ERGONOMÍA para encontrar una solución integral, a partir del interés y compromiso de diferentes actores dentro de la compañía y la integración de áreas estratégicas que, con un enfoque “macro” de orientación “top-down” (Hendrick, 1996a), permitan la implementación de una “ergonomía de alta calidad” (Dul, et, al.,2012) , guiada por el diseño, la cual permitirá dar solución a dichos problemas recurrentes; dejando a un lado esfuerzos mal logrados de intervenciones en ergonomía a nivel micro en las cuales, se dan soluciones parciales a necesidades o requerimientos específicos dentro de la empresa. El modelo de intervención propuesto cuenta con cuatro etapas generales (1- Recopilación y análisis de información; 2- Control/ Articulación; 3- Intervención/Ejecución; y 4- Seguimiento), a través de las cuales se desarrollan 11 pasos cuidadosamente diseñados. Se busca con ellos que tanto la empresa como el experto en ergonomía puedan identificar, analizar y gestionar la información recabada del sistema sociotécnico (Hendrick, 1996a), con el fin de establecer y definir una serie de estrategias, herramientas y actividades que, desde la perspectiva de la ergonomía de alta calidad, conduzcan a la verdadera y completa implementación de la Macroergonomía dentro de la empresa.A generalized practice of Colombian companies is the search for solutions to problems that arise during the life cycle of a product, mainly framed in three phases: 1) the implementation of new products, 2) product maintenance and 3) support during the life cycle. These problems are caused by conditions such as cost overruns, production reprocesses, availability or acquisition of deficient technology, noncompliance with delivery times, shortages, surpluses, unbalance in production chains, work accidents, occupational diseases and nonconformities in internal and external customers. This work seeks to structure an intervention model from DESIGN and ERGONOMICS to find an integral solution, based on the interest and commitment of different actors within the company and the integration of strategic areas that, with a "macro" approach of "top-down" orientation (Hendrick, 1996a), allow the implementation of a "high quality ergonomics" (Dul, et, al., 2012), guided by the design, the implementation of a "high quality ergonomics" (Dul, et, al., 2012). ) , guided by the design, which will allow the solution to these recurring problems; leaving aside the poorly achieved efforts of ergonomics interventions at the micro level in which partial solutions are given to specific needs or requirements within the company. The proposed intervention model has four general stages (1- Information gathering and analysis; 2- Control/Articulation; 3- Intervention/Execution; and 4- Follow-up), through which 11 carefully designed steps are developed. The aim is that both the company and the ergonomics expert can identify, analyze and manage the information gathered from the socio-technical system (Hendrick, 1996a), in order to establish and define a series of strategies, tools and activities that, from the perspective of high quality ergonomics, lead to the true and complete implementation of Macroergonomics within the company.Magíster en Diseño para la Innovación de Productos y ServiciosMaestrí

Buenas prácticas de dispensación de medicamentos y la calidad de servicio en boticas de Lima, año 2023

La investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar la relación entre las buenasprácticas de dispensación de medicamentos y la calidad de servicio en boticasdeLima, 2023. La metodología fue cuantitativa, no experimental y correlacional, lamuestra consideró a 123 usuarios a través de un muestreo probabilístico, losinstrumentos cuentan con validez y fiabilidad. Los resultados mostraronquelasbuenas prácticas de dispensación, el 41,5% (51) en nivel regular, mientrasel 39,0% (48) es adecuada y solo el 19,5% (24) es inadecuada. Además, paracalidad de servicio, el 43,1% (53) refieren un nivel medio, mientras el 39,0%(48)señalaron alto y solo el 17,9% (22) indicaron bajo. En relación a la correlación, seobtuvo un r=0.928; correlación positiva muy fuerte entre buenas prácticasdedispensación y calidad de servicio con un p valor = 0,00 < a 0.05, por ende, seaceptó la hipótesis alterna (Ha). Por consiguiente, se concluyó una correlaciónpositiva muy fuerte entre buenas prácticas de dispensación y calidad de servicio