A critical analysis of Peru's HIV grant proposals to the Global Fund.

Peru has applied to six of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) rounds for funding, achieving success on four occasions. The process of proposal development has, however, been criticised, especially concerning the use of evidence, relevance/consistency and performance indicators. We aimed to analyse the Peruvian Global Fund proposals according to those dimensions, providing feedback to improve future local efforts and inform global discussions around Global Fund procedures. We analysed the content of four HIV-focused proposals (rounds 2, 5, 6 and 8) regarding epidemic context, needs identification and prioritisation and monitoring and evaluation systems. Peruvian proposals submitted after round 1 were described as resulting from collaborative inputs involving formerly unrepresented sectors, principally 'vulnerable populations'. However, difficulties arose regarding the amount and quality of evidence about the epidemiological context; limited consideration of social determinants of the epidemic; lack of theory-driven interventions, and little synergy across projects and the inclusion of weak monitoring and evaluation systems, with poor indicators and measurement procedures. Prioritising the development of analytical and technical skills to generate Global Fund proposals would enhance the country's capacity to produce and utilise evidence, improve the technical-political interface, strengthen information systems and lead to more informed decision making and accountability

Nanotailoring Stereolithography Resins for Unique Applications using Carbon Nanotubes

Nanostructured materials and exploiting their properties in stereolithography (SL) may open new markets for unique rapidly manufactured functional devices. Controlled amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully dispersed in SL epoxy-based resins and complex three-dimensional (3D) parts were successfully fabricated by means of a multi-material SL setup. The effect of the nanosized filler was evaluated using mechanical testing. Small dispersions of MWCNTs resulted in significant effects on the physical properties of the polymerized resin. A MWCNT concentration of .05 wt% (w/v) in DSM Somos® WaterShed™ 11120 resin increased the ultimate tensile stress and fracture stress an average of 17% and 37%, respectively. Electron microscopy was used to examine the morphology of the nanocomposite and results showed affinity between the MWCNTs and SL resin and identified buckled nanotubes that illustrated strong interfacial bonding. These improved physical properties may provide opportunities for using nanocomposite SL resins in end-use applications. Varying types and concentrations of nanomaterials can be used to tailor existing SL resins for particular applications.Mechanical Engineerin

Study of intense electron beams produced by high voltage pulsed glow discharges

Includes bibliographical references (page 374).We report the generation of high-current-density (20A/cm2) pulsed electron beams from high-voltage (48-100 kV) glow discharges using cathodes 7.5 cm in diameter. The pulse duration was determined by the energy of the pulse generator and varied between 0.2 μs and several microseconds, depending on the discharge current. The largest electron beam current (900 A) was obtained with an oxidized aluminum cathode in a helium-oxygen atmosphere. An oxidized magnesium cathode produced similar results, and a molybdenum cathode operated at considerably lower currents. A small-diameter ( 1 kA/cm2) was also observed to develop in the center of the discharge. Electrostatic probe measurements show that the negative glow plasma density and the electron beam current have a similar spatial distribution. Electron temperatures of 1-1.5 eV were measured at 7 cm from the cathode. The plasma density (8.5 • 1011cm-3 at 450 A) was found to depend linearly on the discharge current. In discharges at high currents a denser and higher temperature plasma region was observed to develop at approximately 20 cm from the cathode. We have modeled the process of electron beam generation and predicted the energy distribution of the electron beam. More than 95 percent of the electron beam energy is calculated to be within 10 percent of that corresponding to the discharge voltage

Gravitational instabilities in Kerr space-times

In this paper we consider the possible existence of unstable axisymmetric modes in Kerr space times, resulting from exponentially growing solutions of the Teukolsky equation. We describe a transformation that casts the radial equation that results upon separation of variables in the Teukolsky equation, in the form of a Schr\"odinger equation, and combine the properties of the solutions of this equations with some recent results on the asymptotic behaviour of spin weighted spheroidal harmonics to prove the existence of an infinite family of unstable modes. Thus we prove that the stationary region beyond a Kerr black hole inner horizon is unstable under gravitational linear perturbations. We also prove that Kerr space-time with angular momentum larger than its square mass, which has a naked singularity, is unstable.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, comments, references and calculation details added, asymptotic expansion typos fixe

Factores asociados a insuficiencia renal postoperatoria en cirugía de revascularización miocárdica

Motivation: To determine which medical history and surgical procedure factors are associated to the onset of postoperative kidney failure in patients undergoing myocardial revascularisation. Methods: Case-control cohort study carried out between January 2005 and December 2013 which included patients who had undergone elective myocardial revascularisation and showed postoperative kidney failure immediately after surgery and until discharge. Controls consisted of patients who had undergone elective myocardial revascularisation and did not develop postoperative kidney failure immediately after surgery. A logistic regression model was used to determine the factors associated to postoperative kidney failure. Associations were expressed as grounds of disparity with their corresponding confidence intervals. Results: old age [OR 1.03 CI 95% (1.01-1.04)], preoperative presence of diabetes mellitus [OR 1.8 CI 95% (1.9-3.4)], cardiac insufficiency [OR 2.7 CI 95% (1.1-6.7)] and a longer perfusion time [OR 1.02 CI 95% (1.01-1.03)] were associated to a higher risk of postoperative kidney failure, while higher hematocrit [OR 0.86 CI 95% (0.82-0.91)] and higher ejection fraction [OR 0.94 CI 95% (0.92-0.96)] were associated with a decrease of the risk of postoperative kidney failure. Conclusions: In patients who had undergone myocardial revascularisation, risk factors associated to postoperative kidney failure where comorbidities related to internal and external gradual kidney damage outside the context of the surgery. This implies that strategies to minimise this event should be focused on identifying these patients in a timely manner and offering appropriate nephroprotection. © 2015 Sociedad Colombiana de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular

POLYMER DEGRADATION IN TURBULENT DRAG REDUCING FLOWS IN PIPES

The drag reduction by addition of high molecular additives has been investigated by a number of researchers since it was reported by Toms more than 60 years ago. One of the most significant limitations in drag reduction is the polymer degradation, which is caused by the turbulent structures. Researches have demonstrated that many parameters affect the polymer efficient, as: molecular weight, Reynolds number, concentration and temperature. In the present work we investigate this degradation phenomenon in a pipe flow apparatus device, for aqueous solutions of three different polymers: Polyethylene Oxide (PEO), Polyacrylamide (PAM) and Xanthan Gum (XG).The first two are known as flexible molecules while the last one is considered rigid. The dependence of polymer scission on molecular weight, concentration and Reynolds number is analyzed. We report how the drag reduction decreases when the flow pass repeatedly through the pipe and how the pressure loss measured in the apparatus increases, despite to the fact that the experiment was conducted at a fixed inlet pressure. It is worth noting that the mechanism of loss of efficiency for the XG solutions seems to be completely different from that observed for PEO and PAM, the flexible materials

Video object transmission by means of virtual reality based object extraction

Abstract This paper presents a new technique to extract objects from a real complex background so that a video sequence can be decomposed into a set of objects as required for object oriented video compression techniques. The proposed method is based on a background subtraction technique. However, instead of using a fixed background, the system relies on predicting one from a previously constructed virtual model of the environment. Thus, camera movements are allowed. These movements are estimated by means of a tracker device. We also present the virtual model construction technique for indoor environments. The method has been successfully tested for several different video sequences including capture errors, partially mapped virtual environments and camera positioning errors. Further work will focus on extending the virtual models not only to environment, but also to objects, and integrating the method in a MPEG4 standard compression system

Unstable fields in Kerr spacetimes

We show that both the interior region $r<M-\sqrt{M^2-a^2}$ of a Kerr black hole and the $a^2>M^2$ Kerr naked singularity admit unstable solutions of the Teukolsky equation for any value of the spin weight. For every harmonic number there is at least one axially symmetric mode that grows exponentially in time and decays properly in the radial directions. These can be used as Debye potentials to generate solutions for the scalar, Weyl spinor, Maxwell and linearized gravity field equations on these backgrounds, satisfying appropriate spatial boundary conditions and growing exponentially in time, as shown in detail for the Maxwell case. It is suggested that the existence of the unstable modes is related to the so called "time machine" region, where the axial Killing vector field is time-like, and the Teukolsky equation, restricted to axially symmetric fields, changes its character from hyperbolic to elliptic