Management of Digital Video Broadcasting Services in Open Delivery Platforms

The future of Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is moving towards solutions offering an efficient way of carrying interactive IP multimedia services over digital terrestrial broadcasting networks to handheld terminals. One of the most promising technologies is Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H), at present under standardisation. Services deployed via this type of DVB technologies should enjoy reliability comparable to TV services and high quality standards. However, the market at present does not provide effective and economical solutions for the deployment of such services over multi-domain IP networks, due to their high level of unreliability. This paper focuses on service management, service level agreement (SLA) and network performance requirements of DVB-H services. Experimental results are presented concerning QoS sensitivity to network performance of DVB-H services delivered over a multi-domain IP network. Moreover, a solution for efficient and cost effective service management via QoS monitoring and control and network SLA design is proposed. The solution gives DVB-H operators the possibility of fully managing service QoS without being tied to third party operators

Evaluation of analytical performance and comparison of clinical results of the new generation method AccuTnI+3 for the measurement of cardiac troponin I using both patients and quality control plasma samples

The study aims are to evaluate the analytical performance and the clinical results of the chemiluminescent Access AccuTnI+3 immunoassay for the determination of cardiac troponin I (cTnI)with DxI 800 and Access2 platforms and to compare the clinical results obtained with this method with those of three cTnI immunoassays, recently introduced in the European market. The limits of blank (LoB), detection (LoD), and quantitation (LoQ) at 20% CV and 10% CV were 4.5 ng/L and 10.9 ng/L, 17.1 and 30.4 ng/L, respectively. The results of STAT Architect high Sensitive TnI (Abbott Diagnostics), ADVIA Centaur Troponin I Ultra (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics), ST AIA-Pack cTnI third generation (Tosoh Bioscience), and Access AccuTnI + 3 (Beckman Coulter Diagnostics) showed very close correlations (R ranging from 0.901 to 0.994) in 122 samples of patients admitted to the emergency department. However, on average there was a difference up to 2.4-fold between the method measuring the highest (ADVIA method) and lowest cTnI values (AccuTnI + 3 method). The consensus mean values between methods ranged from 6.2% to 29.6% in 18 quality control samples distributed in an external quality control study (cTnI concentrations ranging from 29.3 ng/L to 1557.5 ng/L). In conclusion, the results of our analytical evaluation concerning the AccuTnI + 3 method, using the DxI platform, are well in agreement with those suggested by the manufacturer as well as those reported by some recent studies using the Access2 platform. Our results confirm that the AccuTnI + 3 method for the Access2 and DxI 800 platforms is a clinically usable method for cTnI measurement

Cenários futuros para a produção de bovinos de corte no Brasil.

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar o futuro da produção de bovinos de corte no Brasil em comparação com evidências já encontradas na literatura. Para atingir tal proposta, é utilizado o documento ?O futuro da cadeia produtiva da carne bovina brasileira: uma visão para 2040? como base documental para a busca de indicativos de ocorrência destas tendências no país. Foi realizada uma análise documental na publicação técnica de visão para 2040 para o elo de produção da cadeia de produtiva e uma pesquisa em bases internacionais em busca de pesquisas com evidências empíricas no contexto brasileiro. Os resultados mostraram que é possível evidenciar que todos os temas gerais sobre o uso de terras, gestão, estrutura produtiva, manejo, meio ambiente e comercialização de animais, já foram abordados em pesquisas, assim como a maioria de seus temas específicos. Com exceção da orientação para tecnologia no campo, que ainda é um desafio para grande parte dos pecuaristas devido ao seu custo elevado de implementação. Todos os outros subtemas que foram correlacionados com as evidências, estão indo ao encontro das tendências apresentadas no documento sobre o futuro da produção brasileira de bovinos de corte. A grande relevância do documento da Embrapa é apresentar as tendências que oferecem aos tomadores de decisões, possíveis cenários para formulação de estratégias que o tornem mais competitivo no mercado de carne bovina

Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) do Complexo Agroindustrial da bovinocultura de corte de Goiás.

bitstream/item/214157/1/DOC-281-Final-em-Alta.pd

Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy: An expert consensus

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful biomarker of bacterial infection and its use is associated to reduced duration of antibiotic therapy in the setting of intensive care medicine. To address the need of practical guidance for the use of PCT in various clinical settings, a group of experts was invited to participate at a consensus process with the aims of defining the rationale for appropriate use of PCT and for improving the management of critically ill patients with sepsis. A group of 14 experts from anesthesiology and critical care, infectious diseases, internal medicine, pulmonology, clinical microbiology, laboratory medicine, clinical pharmacology and methodology provided expert opinion through a modified Delphi process, after a comprehensive literature review. The appropriateness of use of PCT in terms of diagnosis, prognosis and antimicrobial stewardship was assessed for different scenarios or settings such us management of infection in the emergency department, regular wards, surgical wards or in the intensive care unit. Similarly, appropriateness and timing of PCT measurement were evaluated. All the process consisted in three Delphi rounds. PCT use is appropriate in algorithms for antibiotic de-escalation and discontinuation. In this case, reproducible, high sensitive assays should be used. However, initiation or escalation of antibiotic therapy in specific scenarios, including acute respiratory infections, should not be based solely on PCT serum levels. Clinical and radiological findings, evaluation of severity of illness and of patient's characteristics should be taken into proper account in order to correctly interpret PCT results

CEST MRI provides amide/amine surrogate biomarkers for treatment-naïve glioma sub-typing

PURPOSE: Accurate glioma classification affects patient management and is challenging on non- or low-enhancing gliomas. This study investigated the clinical value of different chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) metrics for glioma classification and assessed the diagnostic effect of the presence of abundant fluid in glioma subpopulations. METHODS: Forty-five treatment-naïve glioma patients with known isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation and 1p/19q codeletion status received CEST MRI (B1rms = 2μT, Tsat = 3.5 s) at 3 T. Magnetization transfer ratio asymmetry and CEST metrics (amides: offset range 3-4 ppm, amines: 1.5-2.5 ppm, amide/amine ratio) were calculated with two models: 'asymmetry-based' (AB) and 'fluid-suppressed' (FS). The presence of T2/FLAIR mismatch was noted. RESULTS: IDH-wild type had higher amide/amine ratio than IDH-mutant_1p/19qcodel (p < 0.022). Amide/amine ratio and amine levels differentiated IDH-wild type from IDH-mutant (p < 0.0045) and from IDH-mutant_1p/19qret (p < 0.021). IDH-mutant_1p/19qret had higher amides and amines than IDH-mutant_1p/19qcodel (p < 0.035). IDH-mutant_1p/19qret with AB/FS mismatch had higher amines than IDH-mutant_1p/19qret without AB/FS mismatch ( < 0.016). In IDH-mutant_1p/19qret, the presence of AB/FS mismatch was closely related to the presence of T2/FLAIR mismatch (p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: CEST-derived biomarkers for amides, amines, and their ratio can help with histomolecular staging in gliomas without intense contrast enhancement. T2/FLAIR mismatch is reflected in the presence of AB/FS CEST mismatch. The AB/FS CEST mismatch identifies glioma subgroups that may have prognostic and clinical relevance

Mensuração da sustentabilidade na bovinocultura de corte: desafios para o consumo e produção responsáveis da Agenda 2030.

Os sistemas produtivos da bovinocultura de corte estão diante de complexos desafios globais. Um deles refere-se ao atendimento dos Objetivos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável, que incentiva os sistemas a se adaptarem aos padrões produtivos sustentáveis propostos pela ciência, pelos consumidores e demais partes interessadas. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste artigo é identificar na literatura um conjunto de indicadores que contribuam para o alcance da sustentabilidade no sistema produtivo da bovinocultura de corte. Para atingir tal proposta, optou-se pela realização de uma revisão integrativa da literatura. Os resultados mostraram a existência de indicadores de desempenho, indicadores relacionados aos animais, bem como outros estruturais e econômicos. Contudo, não foram identificados indicadores voltados para contribuir no alcance da sustentabilidade dos sistemas produtivos específicos da bovinocultura de corte. A relevância deste estudo se dá pelo reconhecimento de uma lacuna metodológica, que representa uma medida pertinente para enfrentar os desafios cada vez maiores identificados nos sistemas produtivos globais. Essas informações fornecem estratégias que auxiliam o progresso de avaliações e análises pertinentes para arear questões envoltas no desenvolvimento de práticas cotidianas mais sustentáveis e de políticas públicas mais eficazes. Além disso, contribui para o atendimento das dimensões da sustentabilidade, no âmbito da produção de alimentos a partir da proteína animal

A Longitudinal Study of Brazilian Food Production Dynamics.

Brazil is among the world's leading food producers and exporters. The opportunity arose to examine and analyse dynamics of spatiotemporal of major agricultural crop and animal commodities within Brazil. An investigation was carried out on shifts in distribution density across Brazil's different agricultural production regions between 1990 and 2015. This focused mainly on the midwest region, Brazil's main agricultural frontier in the 21st century. This process enabled an analysis of the potential areas for maintenance and expansion of food supply chains and confirmed an increase in agricultural production in country's central region. Geographical transformations were noted in the midwest region's interior and its frontier with the Amazon biome. Over the study period, geographical midpoints of some key agricultural commodities (e.g., soybean, maize) and beef cattle production shifted towards the midwest's interior, whereas milk, poultry, and pork production shifted southward. A vital issue in discussing contemporary rural areas, agricultural food production is tied to the quality of life, food supply, distribution, and consumption, as well as social, economic, and spatial inequalities. The development of science and technology applied to agriculture has implications regarding production growth and innovation targeted toward guaranteeing sustainable long-term production

Análise de endemismo de táxons neotropicais de Pentatomidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

The definition of areas of endemism is central to studies of historical biogeography, and their interrelationships are fundamental questions. Consistent hypotheses for the evolution of Pentatomidae in the Neotropical region depend on the accuracy of the units employed in the analyses, which in the case of studies of historical biogeography, may be areas of endemism. In this study, the distribution patterns of 222 species, belonging to 14 Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) genera, predominantly neotropical, were studied with the Analysis of Endemicity (NDM) to identify possible areas of endemism and to correlate them to previously delimited areas. The search by areas of endemism was carried out using grid-cell units of 2.5° and 5° latitude-longitude. The analysis based on groupings of grid-cells of 2.5° of latitude-longitude allowed the identification of 51 areas of endemism, the consensus of these areas resulted in four clusters of grid-cells. The second analysis, with grid-cells units of 5° latitude-longitude, resulted in 109 areas of endemism. The flexible consensus employed resulted in 17 areas of endemism. The analyses were sensitive to the identification of areas of endemism in different scales in the Atlantic Forest. The Amazonian region was identified as a single area in the area of consensus, and its southeastern portion shares elements with the Chacoan and Paraná subregions. The distribution data of the taxa studied, with different units of analysis, did not allow the identification of individual areas of endemism for the Cerrado and Caatinga. The areas of endemism identified here should be seen as primary biogeographic hypotheses.A definição de áreas de endemismo é central aos estudos de Biogeografia Histórica e suas inter-relações são questões fundamentais. Hipóteses consistentes sobre a evolução de Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) na Região Neotropical dependem da acuidade das unidades empregadas nas análises, que no caso de estudos de biogeografia histórica, podem ser áreas endêmicas. Neste trabalho foram estudados os padrões de distribuição de 222 espécies, pertencentes a 14 gêneros de Pentatomidae, com ocorrência predominantemente neotropical, com base em uma Análise de Endemicidade (NDM) a fim de inferir possíveis áreas endêmicas e relacioná-las a áreas previamente delimitadas. A busca por áreas endêmicas foi realizada com quadrículas de 2,5° e 5° latitude-longitude. A análise com base em agrupamentos de 2,5° latitude-longitude permitiu identificar 51 áreas de endemismo, sendo que o consenso destas áreas resultou em quatro agrupamentos de quadrículas. A segunda análise, com quadrículas de 5° latitude-longitude, resultou em 109 áreas de endemismo. O consenso flexível empregado resultou em 17 áreas de endemismo. As análises foram sensíveis à identificação de áreas de endemismo na Mata Atlântica em diferentes escalas. A região Amazônica foi identificada como uma área única no consenso, sendo que a porção sudeste compartilha elementos com as sub-regiões do Chaco e Paraná. Os dados de distribuição dos táxons estudados, com diferentes unidades de análises, não permitiram a identificação de áreas endêmicas para o Cerrado e a Caatinga. As áreas de endemismo aqui identificadas devem ser tratadas como hipóteses biogeográficas primárias.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Laboratório de Entomologia Sistemática Departamento de ZoologiaUniversidade Federal do Paraná Departamento de Zoologia Programa de Pós-Graduação em EntomologiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Ciências BiológicasUNIFESP, Depto. de Ciências BiológicasSciEL