Learnings from Pilot Implementation of Smart City by a Brazilian Energy Utility

This chapter describes the experience acquired during the implementation of a smart grid pilot project in a Brazilian utility. Learnings in the area of smart metering, telecommunication, information systems and project management are presented. A special focus on Brazilian specificities is given as well as on the management of innovative projects

Delivering bad news fairly: the influence of core self-evaluations and anxiety for the enactment of interpersonal justice

What motivates managers to deliver bad news in a just manner and why do some managers fail to treat recipients of bad news with dignity and respect? Given the importance of delivering bad news in a just manner, answering these questions is critical to promote justice in the workplace. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotions, we propose that people with higher core self-evaluations may be less likely to deliver bad news in an interpersonally just manner. This is because these actors are more likely to appraise the delivery of bad news as a situation in which they have high coping potential and are therefore less likely to experience anxiety. However, we propose that anxiety can be important for propelling the enactment of interpersonal justice. We test our predictions across three studies (with four samples of full-time managers and employees). Theoretical and practical contributions include enhancing our understanding of who is motivated to enact interpersonal justice, why they are motivated to do so, and how to enhance justice in the workplace. Our findings also challenge the assumption that negative emotions are necessarily dysfunctional for the enactment of interpersonal justice and instead highlight the facilitative role of anxiety in this context.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The oldest record of Hemiauchenia Gervais and Ameghino (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) in South America: Comments about its paleobiogeographic and stratigraphic implications

The South American camelids belong to the Tribe Lamini; this Tribe originated in North America and arrived in South America during the ‘‘Great American Biotic Interchange’’. The goals of this paper are: (i) to describe the specimen MAM-70, the oldest record of Hemiauchenia Gervais and Ameghino in South America; (ii) to analyze this specimen from a stratigraphic point of view; (iii) to update the distribution and stratigraphic ranges of Lamini in South America; and (iv) to discuss its dispersal pattern to South America. The finding of Hemiauchenia sp. in late Pliocene Chapadmalalan sediments cropping out at the city of Olavarrı´a (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) represents the oldest record of a Lamini taxon in South America. This finding refutes the hypotheses that consider the genus Lama as the first North American immigrant and those considering that Hemiauchenia and Palaeolama arrived in South America after the closure of the Central America land bridge, during the early–middle Pleistocene. In turn, this specimen corroborates the hypothesis of the dispersal of Lamini from North America to South America, which considered that Palaeolama dispersed after Hemiauchenia, in a later and isolated event. In addition, this finding suggests the possibility that a form closely related to the North American Hemiauchenia macrocephala could have dispersed to South America during the Pliocene, thus originating the South American forms of Hemiauchenia and Lama.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Control Strategies for Smart Charging and Discharging of Plug- In Electric Vehicles

This chapter aims to provide an overview of the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging and discharging strategies in the electric power system and the smart cities, as well as an application benefiting both consumers and power utility. The electric vehicle technology will be introduced. Then, the main impacts, benefits and challenges related to this technology will be discussed. Following, the role of the vehicles in smart cities will be presented. Next, the major methods and strategies for charging and discharging of plug-in electric vehicles available in the literature will be described. Finally, a new strategy for the intelligent charging and discharging of electric vehicles will be presented, which aims to benefit the consumer and the power utility

PAÇO DOS AÇORIANOS: A ESTÉTICA RELIGIOSA DO POSITIVISMO CASTILHISTA NA PRIMEIRA REPÚBLICA (1889-1930)

O positivismo do Rio Grande do Sul desenvolveu características que lhe renderam a alcunha de “castilhista”, especialmente em função dos ditames de seu maior representante, Júlio Prates de Castilhos. Enquanto a República brasileira construía seu imaginário simbólico no centro do país, Castilhos coordenava em Porto Alegre a construção da sede da intendência da capital, o Paço dos Açorianos, em cuja arquitetura aplicou princípios estéticos que exaltavam os aspectos autoritários da República por ele defendida. Esse artigo analisa as características religiosas de seu discurso arquitetônico e escultural, as quais demonstram os objetivos de construir um imaginário e legado político messiânico por parte daquele que foi chamado “Patriarca” do Rio Grande do Sul

Brazilian Chronic Dialysis Survey 2013 - Trend analysis between 2011 and 2013

Introduction: National chronic dialysis data have had impact in the treatment planning. Objective: To report data of the annual survey of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology about chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis in July 2013 and compare with 2011-12. Methods: A survey based on data of dialysis units from the whole country. The data collection was performed by using a questionnaire filled out on-line by the dialysis units. Results: Three hundred thirty four (51%) of the dialysis units in the country answered the questionnaire. In July 2013, the total estimated number of patients on dialysis was 100,397. The estimated prevalence and incidence rates of chronic maintenance dialysis were 449 (range: 284 in the North region and 622 in the South) and 170 patients per million population, respectively. The estimated number of new patients starting dialysis in 2013 was 34,161. The annual gross mortality rate was 17.9%. For prevalent patients, 31.4% were aged 65 years or older, 90.8% were on hemodialysis and 9.2% on peritoneal dialysis, 31,351 (31.2%) were on a waiting list of renal transplant, 30% were diabetics, 17% had PTH levels > 600 pg/ml and 23% hemoglobin 600 pg/ml e 23% hemoglobina < 10 g/dl. Cateter venoso era usado como acesso em 15,4% dos pacientes em hemodiálise. Conclusão: O número absoluto de pacientes em diálise tem aumentado 3% ao ano nos últimos 3 anos. As taxas de prevalência e incidência de pacientes em diálise ficaram estáveis, e a taxa de mortalidade tendeu a diminuir em relação a 2012. Houve tendência a melhor controle da anemia e dos níveis de PTH.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Universidade Federal da BahiaUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulUniversidade Federal FluminenseFaculdade de Medicina do ABCUNIFESPSciEL

2010 report of the Brazilian dialysis census

INTRODUCTION: National chronic dialysis data are fundamental for treatment planning. OBJECTIVE: To report data of the annual survey of the Brazilian Society of Nephrology about patients with chronic renal failure who were on dialysis in 1 July, 2010. METHODS: A national survey based on data from the country's dialysis centers. Data collection was performed by using a questionnaire filled out online by the dialysis centers. RESULTS: 340 (53.3%) centers answered the questionnaire. National data were estimated for the overall dialysis population. In July 2010, the estimated total number of patients on dialysis was 92,091. The estimated prevalence and incidence rates of end-stage chronic kidney disease patients on maintenance dialysis were 483 and 100/million population, respectively. The estimated number of patients starting a dialysis program in 2010 was 18,972. The annual crude mortality rate was 17.9%. Of those on maintenance dialysis, 30.7% were aged 65 years or older, 90.6% were on hemodialysis and 9.4% on peritoneal dialysis, 35,639 (38.7%) were on a kidney transplant waiting list, 28% were diabetics, 34.5% had serum phosphorus levels > 5.5 mg/dL, and 38.5% had hemoglobin levels 5,5 mg/dL e 38,5%, hemoglobina < 11 g/dL. O cateter venoso era usado como acesso vascular em 13,6% dos pacientes em hemodiálise. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de pacientes em diálise tem apresentado aumento progressivo. Os dados dos indicadores da qualidade diálise de manutenção melhoraram em relação a 2009 e destacam a importância do censo anual para o planejamento da assistência dialítica.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de MedicinaUniversidade Federal da Bahia Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia Departamento de MedicinaUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de Medicina InternaUniversidade Federal Fluminense Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de Medicina ClínicaFaculdade de Medicina do ABC Departamento de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de MedicinaSciEL

Decision support system for selecting sectoral data-bases in studies of the water–energy–agricultural–environmental nexus

A obtenção de bases de dados para auxiliar o desenvolvimento de estudos&nbsp;multidisciplinares em sistemas de redes complexas intersetoriais apresenta&nbsp;grandes desafios devido à falta de compatibilização e nivelamento entre as&nbsp;informações, uma vez que estão segmentadas de diferentes formas nos&nbsp;setores correlacionados. Diante disso, o presente artigo tem por objetivo&nbsp;propor um Sistema de Apoio à Decisão (SAD) para auxiliar na identificação,&nbsp;análise e seleção de bases de dados setoriais, visando subsidiar o&nbsp;desenvolvimento de estudos quantitativos mediante o conceito “Nexus&nbsp;água, energia, agricultura e meio ambiente”. Para tanto, foi apresentada&nbsp;uma estrutura conceitual definida em seis etapas: análise institucional,&nbsp;definição das alternativas, definição dos critérios, análise das bases de&nbsp;dados, matriz de classificação, e organização e seleção das alternativas.&nbsp;A validação do SAD proposto foi realizada por meio das bases de dados&nbsp;de âmbito federal presentes no Brasil. Após a aplicação do SAD nas bases&nbsp;de dados levantadas, verifica-se que: até o momento, o Brasil não possui&nbsp;bases de dados interconectados e compartilhados entre diferentes setores;&nbsp;as informações concentram-se em uma grande quantidade de instituições&nbsp;e contemplam uma multiplicidade de escalas espaciais e temporais,&nbsp;dificultando suas interações; a adoção de macroescalas, espacial e&nbsp;temporal, facilita a integração das informações levantadas; e as estruturas&nbsp;organizacionais setoriais do país tendem a inviabilizar o desenvolvimento&nbsp;de sistemas integrados em redes complexas. O SAD proposto permite uma&nbsp;melhor compreensão e visualização de possíveis simplificações e limitações&nbsp;inerentes em estudos integrados, de âmbito quantitativo, minimizando&nbsp;incertezas e direcionando estratégias sistêmicas de planejamento e gestão.Obtaining databases to develop multidisciplinary studies in complex&nbsp;intersectoral network systems presents great challenges. Databases&nbsp;often lack compatibility or data standardization because they are&nbsp;organized differently by sector. Therefore, this article aims to propose&nbsp;a Decision Support System (DSS) to assist in the identification, analysis,&nbsp;and selection of sectoral databases to support the development of&nbsp;quantitative studies. The concept of the “Nexus of water, energy,&nbsp;agriculture, and the environment” is used to illustrate the development&nbsp;of the DSS. To this end, a conceptual structure defined in six stages was&nbsp;presented: institutional analysis, definition of alternatives, definition of&nbsp;criteria, analysis of databases, classification matrix, and organization&nbsp;and selection of alternatives. Validation of the proposed DSS was carried&nbsp;out using national-scale databases for the Brazilian context. From the&nbsp;application of DSS in the databases surveyed, it appears that: Brazil&nbsp;does not have interconnected databases, nor does it share databases&nbsp;between sectors; the information is dispersed across a large number of&nbsp;institutions, and includes a multiplicity of spatial and temporal scales,&nbsp;hindering their integration; the adoption of macro-scales, both spatially&nbsp;and temporally, facilitates the integration of the collected information,&nbsp;and the country’s sectoral organizational structures tend to hamper&nbsp;the development of systems integrated into complex networks. The&nbsp;proposed DSS allows a better understanding and visualization of&nbsp;possible simplifications and limitations inherent in integrated studies&nbsp;of quantitative scope, minimizes uncertainties, and directs systemic&nbsp;planning and management strategies