IMPACTS OF FTAA AND MERCOEURO ON AGRIBUSINESS IN THE MERCOSUL COUNTRIES

Focusing on changes in agricultural policy, this paper examines the economic impacts on MERCOSUL member country economies arising from the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and a free trade area between MERCOSUL and the European Union (MERCOEURO). Four simulations are run using the Global Trade Analysis Project's (GTAP) applied general equilibrium model. The results suggest these new trade alliances would cause an increase in MERCOSUL agribusiness production and a decrease in manufactures production. In all scenarios, agricultural trade flows are greatly altered, expanding MERCOSUL agribusiness exports. Economic growth for the MERCOSUL countries increases only in the MERCOEURO scenarios. The elimination of agriculture production and export subsidies by members of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and European Union (E.U.) has strong economic impacts on the MERCOSUL member countries.FTAA, MERCOEURO, Agribusiness, MERCOSUL, GTAP, Agribusiness,

A química na região Norte

A historical overview of CHEMISTRY SCIENCE from the beginning of the ESCOLA DE QUÍMICA INDUSTRIAL DO PARÁ in the northern region of Brazil is given. Reports were conducted on graduate and under graduate coursework within research and teaching institutions in each State of the Amazon region. Data collection included teaching, research and industrial activities

Communication in M&A: understanding the process and the outcomes

Mergers and Acquisitions have attracted scholars’ attention for several decades, yet the reasons that justify their high rate of failure are not yet entirely understood. Nonetheless, an excessive focus in the financial component of the process, and the lack of studies connecting the several variables of this phenomenon have been cited by authors as two of the main flaws in literature. This paper proposes to address these flaws, conducting an extensive review of papers that have approached Communication in the context of M&A. Based on the findings, a framework linking Communication with several Variables and Outcomes of the M&A process is proposed, in an attempt to provide direction for future researchers

A Web GIS-Based Platform to Harvest Georeferenced Data from Social Networks: Examples of Data Collection Regarding Disaster Events

Whenever disaster situations occur the civil protection authorities need to have fast access to data that may help to plan emergency response. To contribute to the collection and integration of all available data a platform that aims to harvest Volunteered Geographical Information (VGI) from social networks and collaborative projects was created. This enables the integration of VGI with data coming from other sources, such as data collected by physical sensors in real time and made available through Applications Programming Interface (APIs), as well as, for example, official maps. The architecture of the created platform is described and its first prototype presented. Some example queries are performed and the results are analyzed

Correlação entre a Clearance da Creatinina Estimada e a Taxa de Filtração Glomerular Estimada nos Doentes Muito Idosos e Erros de Prescrição dos Antibióticos: Um Estudo de Coorte

Introduction: Determination of renal function is particularly important when prescribing antibiotics to elderly patients. This study aims to determine the correlation between estimated creatinine clearance and the estimated glomerular filtration rate, for a hospitalized population of very elderly patients, and to audit antibiotic prescribing errors. Material and methods: Retrospective cohort study of all patients ≥ 80 years hospitalized with antibiotic. Creatinine clearance was calculated using Cockcroft-Gault equation and estimated glomerular filtration rate by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations. Dosing errors were determined through adjustment of daily define dose to renal function. Results: The study included 589 patients. The correlation of Cockcroft-Gault with Modification of Diet in Renal Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration was r = 0.98 and 0.96 for the minimum serum creatinine, and 0.97 and 0.93 for the maximum serum creatinine. Based on Cockcroft-Gault, there were errors in the daily defined dose in 45% in the minimum serum creatinine, and 52% in the maximum serum creatinine day. There was a discrepancy in the recording of errors of 14% to 16% when Cockcroft-Gault was compared with Modification of Diet in Renal Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration. Discussion: There was a good correlation of Cockcroft-Gault with the estimated glomerular filtration rate by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease or Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration. Regardless of the equation used to estimate renal function there was a high rate of antibiotic dosing errors documented in this population. Conclusion: This study supports the maintenance of the Cockcroft-Gault equation for drug dosing in the very elderly population. Further studies are needed to investigate underlying causes of prescribing errors.Introdução: A determinação da função renal é particularmente importante na prescrição de antibióticos em doentes idosos. O objetivo deste estudo é correlacionar a clearance de creatinina com a taxa de filtração glomerular estimada, numa população hospitalizada de doentes muito idosos, e auditar os erros de prescrição antibiótica. Material e Métodos: Coorte retrospetivo de todos os doentes ≥ 80 anos hospitalizados com antibioterapia prescrita. A clearance de creatinina foi calculada através da equação Cockcroft-Gault, e a filtração glomerular estimada através das equações Modification of Diet in Renal Disease e Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration. Os erros de prescrição foram determinados pelo ajuste da dose diária definida à função renal. Resultados: Foram incluídos 589 doentes. A correlação da Cockcroft-Gault com Modification of Diet in Renal Disease e Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration foi r = 0,98 e 0,96 para a creatinina sérica mínima, e 0,97 e 0,93 para a creatinina sérica máxima. Com base na Cockcroft-Gault, a taxa de erro na dose diária definida foi 45% no dia da creatinina sérica mínima e 52% no dia da creatinina sérica máxima. Quando a Cockcroft-Gault foi comparada com a Modification of Diet in Renal Disease e a Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration houve uma discrepância no registo de erros de 14% a 16%, respetivamente. Discussão: Verificou-se uma boa correlação entre a Cockcroft-Gault e as equações que calculam a filtração glomerular: Modification of Diet in Renal Disease ou Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration. Independentemente da equação utilizada para estimar a função renal, foi documentada uma taxa elevada de erros na dose de antibióticos prescrita nesta população. Conclusão: Este estudo reforça a manutenção do uso da equação de Cockcroft-Gault para calcular a dose adequada de antibióticos na população muito idosa. Mais estudos são necessários para investigar as causas subjacentes aos erros de prescrição.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Model-Predictive Motion Planner for the IARA Autonomous Car

We present the Model-Predictive Motion Planner (MPMP) of the Intelligent Autonomous Robotic Automobile (IARA). IARA is a fully autonomous car that uses a path planner to compute a path from its current position to the desired destination. Using this path, the current position, a goal in the path and a map, IARA's MPMP is able to compute smooth trajectories from its current position to the goal in less than 50 ms. MPMP computes the poses of these trajectories so that they follow the path closely and, at the same time, are at a safe distance of eventual obstacles. Our experiments have shown that MPMP is able to compute trajectories that precisely follow a path produced by a Human driver (distance of 0.15 m in average) while smoothly driving IARA at speeds of up to 32.4 km/h (9 m/s).Comment: This is a preprint. Accepted by 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA

DANTE - The combination between an ant colony optimization algorithm and a depth search method

The ε-DANTE method is an hybrid meta-heuristic. In combines the evolutionary Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithms with a limited Depth Search. This Depth Search is based in the pheromone trails used by the ACO, which allows it to be oriented to the more promising areas of the search space. Some results are presented for the multiple objective k-Degree Spanning Trees problem, proving the effectiveness of the method when compared with other already tested evolutionary methods. © 2008 IEEE

Engineering Education for the Future in a Multicultural and Smart World

Focused on "Engineering Education for the future in a multicultural and smart world", the EDUCON2020 Online edition was based on a comprehensible program that included: • a pre-conference day with 9 workshops, which attracted approx. 300 remote participants; • 3 plenary sessions, including: • a unique opening interview with interveners physically located in two different time zones, with a span of 16 hours, in particular Keith Willey (interviewed), from Sydney, Australia, and Susan Zvacek (interviewer), from Denver, US. Henrique Santos, Vice President for Conferences and Workshops of the IEEE Education Society, located in Portugal, served as moderator. • a keynote by Annette Kolmos, about “Complex Problem Solving and PBL in Engineering Education”, moderated by José Carlos Quadrado. • and, a closing debate with Maria Graça Carvalho (a member of the European Parliament), Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo (Rector of Universidade Portucalense Infante D. Henrique), and João Gabriel Silva (Rector of the University of Coimbra from 2011 to 2019), who discussed about “The University and the Digital Transformation of Society”, in a debate moderated by Russ Meier, president of the IEEE Education Society. • and 44 technical sessions; 4 round tables, and 7 special sessions The technical program included 314 papers that underwent a double-blind review process with at least 3 independent reviewers. Considering a total number of 654 submissions, this results into a 50% acceptance rate. Finally, the EDUCON2020 online conference edition gathered more than 300 participants from 51 countries on 5 continents.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On the Public Policies Supporting Renewables and Wind Power Overcapacity: Insights into the European Way Forward

The debate about the depth and characteristics of public policy intervention in encouraging renewable energy is more urgent than ever. Some of the literature has started to cast doubt on the strategies being pursued by countries to encourage renewables. These criticisms have been varied with regard to the costs of intervention and the consequences for the economy as a whole. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Main abbreviations when administering drugs in the UK

A la hora de incorporarse como enfermero a cualquiera de los hospitales del NHS o sistema de salud británico, los enfermeros españoles nos encontramos con bastantes dificultades a la hora de prestar unos cuidados enfermeros de calidad, ya que la enfermería en Inglaterra es muy diferente a la que desarrollamos en España. Una de las mayores dificultades que encontramos es la barrera del idioma, la cual se acentúa cuando nos encontramos con abreviaturas médicas del Inglés, con lo que mediante esta guía se pretende facilitar el trabajo de los enfermeros que se inician en esta experiencia.When incorporated as a nurse to any NHS hospitals or British health system, Spanish nurses we met many difficulties in providing a nursing care quality, since nursing in England it is very different from the we developed in Spain. One of the biggest difficulties we face is the language barrier, which is accentuated when we find English medical abbreviations, which by this guide is to facilitate the work of nurses who are new to this experience