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Complex systems may be a useful methodological tool to address “challenges for research in development”. There is a huge and growing literature on complex systems and economic theory that might be related to early intuitions of classical economists on the workings of capitalist economies. Kondratiev and Slutsky have worked with features of complex systems – how technological revolutions change the system. This may underlie one peculiarity of capitalism – a complex system that changes its level of complexity over time. The inclusion of the periphery broadens its turbulent nature: a complex system that combines regions with self-organization dynamics – the center – and regions with random behavior – the periphery.

Abstract Background There is emerging evidence that the nervous system regulates immune and metabolic alterations mediating Metabolic syndrome (MetS) pathogenesis via the vagus nerve. This study evaluated the effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (TAVNS) on key cardiovascular and inflammatory components of MetS. Methods We conducted an open label, randomized (2:1), two-arm, parallel-group controlled trial in MetS patients. Subjects in the treatment group (n = 20) received 30 min of TAVNS with a NEMOS® device placed on the cymba conchae of the left ear, once weekly. Patients in the control group (n = 10) received no stimulation. Hemodynamic, heart rate variability (HRV), biochemical parameters, and monocytes, progenitor endothelial cells, circulating endothelial cells, and endothelial micro particles were evaluated at randomization, after the first TAVNS treatment, and again after 8 weeks of follow-up. Results An improvement in sympathovagal balance (HRV analysis) was observed after the first TAVNS session. Only patients treated with TAVNS for 8 weeks had a significant decrease in office BP and HR, a further improvement in sympathovagal balance, with a shift of circulating monocytes towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype and endothelial cells to a reparative vascular profile. Conclusion These results are of interest for further study of TAVNS as treatment of MetS.

RESUMO Este artigo trata do status teórico das patentes, tendo como referência a abordagem neo-shumpeteriana. Diferentes características das patentes são analisadas: i) conteúdo informativo; ii) apropriabilidade dos retornos da inovação; iii) o complexo trade-off entre os incentivos à inovação ou difusão; iv) escopo da patente e seu impacto nas inovações de segunda geração; v) barreira à entrada. Essa análise leva a uma avaliação das leis de patentes como uma mistura diferente dessas características. Finalmente, são discutidas as especificidades das leis de patentes adaptadas aos países menos desenvolvidos.

ABSTRACT This paper suggests a tentative “typology” for Non-OECD National Systems of Innovation (NSIs). Three main categories compose this tentative “typology”: “mature” NSIs, catching up NSIs, and “non-mature” NSIs. This paper investigates theoretical mediations which may be necessary if the NSI concept is to be applied appropriately to Non-OECD countries. Science and technology statistics are used to evaluate the suggested “typology”. Basic statistics (GDP, R&D expenditures, education, patents, and papers) are presented. Data from forty-six countries are used for statistical exercises. The findings of this paper hint that it is possible to cluster different countries around science and technology indicators.

Abstract Hypertension is often associated with metabolic changes. The sustained increase in sympathetic activity is related to increased blood pressure and metabolic changes. Environmental stimuli may be related to increased sympathetic activity, blood pressure, and metabolic changes, especially in genetically predisposed individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of fatty acids to physical and mental stress in healthy volunteers and the hemodynamic, hormonal, and metabolic implications of these stimuli. Fifteen healthy individuals with a mean age of 31 ± 7 years, of both sexes, were evaluated. They were assessed at baseline and after combined physical and mental stress (isometric exercise test, Stroop color test). Blood samples were collected at baseline and after stimulation for glucose, insulin, fatty acid, and catecholamine levels. Blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, and distensibility of the large and small arteries were analyzed. The data obtained at baseline and after stimuli were from the same individual, being the control itself. Compared to baseline, after physical and mental stress there was a statistically significant increase (p

Resumo: Os autores procuraram conhecer a realidade do ensino da Ética 1Hédica nas Faculdades de Medicina no Brasil a nível de graduação. Assim, entraram em contato com o responsável pela matéria, obtendo uma série de informações que apresentam, lamentando o assunto.

RESUMO Este artigo sugere uma Agência Especial de Seguros (SIA) para o financiamento de investimentos inovadores. O objetivo desta agência é estabelecer um vínculo entre o sistema bancário e o sistema de inovação. Este artigo avalia o sistema bancário brasileiro e o sistema nacional de inovação e sugere uma inovação institucional. Essa Agência de Seguros Especiais apoiaria um aumento na quantidade de recursos privados alocados ao financiamento de atividades inovadoras, tanto para empresas estabelecidas quanto para novas empresas. Essa Agência de Seguros Especiais pode reorganizar a divisão do trabalho entre as instituições do sistema brasileiro de inovação.

RESUMO Este artigo discute o sistema de inovação biomédica. Esse sistema setorial é uma interseção entre o sistema de inovação e as instituições de assistência social. A dinâmica inovadora no setor da saúde possui várias características distintas, especialmente a importância das universidades e a pesquisa acadêmica para as inovações biomédicas. A especificidade do cuidado em saúde como atividade econômica explica o papel das instituições nesse setor. As instituições e a regulamentação moldam a direção do progresso tecnológico, influenciando o desempenho econômico, industrial e social de todo o setor da saúde.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the last book that Marx excerpted in his life: La Physique Moderne, written by Hospitalier and published in 1882. This last Notebook (B156, in the IISG’s archives) contains hints of other issues that he was researching in his last years, especially societies at the periphery. This combination of issues - an emerging technological revolution and societies at the periphery - may contribute to a better understanding of connections between technological revolutions and the centre-periphery divide. Technological revolutions, sources of new starting points, have been shaping and reshaping the structure of that divide, its nature and structure.

RESUMO Este artigo discute os papéis do empreendedor na teoria econômica. As deficiências da teoria mainstream são apontadas e as contribuições precursoras de Cantillon e Bentham são analisadas, bem como as diferentes abordagens de Marx, Veblen e Sombart. A mudança do papel do empreendedor após a emergência das corporações modernas é discutida, seguindo os trabalhos de Schumpeter, Penrose e Chandler.

Recent work on applying semantic technologies to learning has concentrated on providing novel means of accessing and making use of learning objects. However, this is unnecessarily limiting: semantic technologies will make it possible to develop a range of educational Semantic Web services, such as interpretation, structure-visualization, support for argumentation, novel forms of content customization, novel mechanisms for aggregating learning material, citation services and so on. In this paper, we outline an initial framework that extends the use of semantic technologies as a means of providing learning services that are owned and created by learning communities.

As zonas costeiras são espaços muito afetados pela alta concentração demográfica, apresentando, por isso, diversos problemas ambientais. As praias, constituintes desses espaços, acabam, por sua vez, perdendo muitas de suas funções, tanto em termos de importância para o homem, principalmente em relação ao lazer, como em termos de importância ambiental, como parte integrante dos ecossistemas. Nesse contexto, os esgotos domésticos se apresentam como um dos principais degradadores do ambiente praiano, causando danos ao meio ambiente, à economia e à saúde da população, afetando a balneabilidade, por exemplo. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho objetivou fazer uma investigação sobre o comprometimento ambiental da balneabilidade da praia de Manaíra em João Pessoa-PB, desenvolvendo um estudo da frequência da impropriedade da praia para o banho e avaliando parâmetros físico-químicos e microbiológicos de caracterização das águas e de efluentes advindos de galerias de águas pluviais que deságuam naquele ambiente. Com o trabalho pode-se concluir que a alta frequência com que a praia permanece imprópria ao banho está relacionada a ligações clandestinas de esgotos domésticos à rede de águas pluviais. Também foi possível concluir que esse lançamento indevido pode estar trazendo grande contaminação por microorganismos patogênicos e amônia (NH3-N).

OBJETIVO: Identificar as espécies de micobactérias encontradas no escarro de pacientes com suspeita de tuberculose pulmonar e analisar o impacto dessas identificações na abordagem terapêutica. MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados 106 pacientes com suspeita de tuberculose pulmonar encaminhados para o serviço de pneumologia de um hospital público em Teresina, Piauí. Espécimes de escarro matinal foram avaliados quanto à presença de micobactérias por baciloscopia e cultura. Foram utilizadas PCR e análise de restrição enzimática do gene hsp65 (PRA-hsp65) para a identificação das cepas de micobactérias isoladas em cultura. RESULTADOS: Foram analisadas 206 amostras de escarro. A idade dos pacientes variou de 15 a 87 anos, sendo 67% do gênero masculino. Tosse ocorreu em 100% dos casos. O padrão radiográfico predominante foi de lesão moderada, observada em 70%. A positividade no esfregaço foi de 76%, e isolamento em cultura ocorreu em 91% das culturas executadas. Testes tradicionais identificaram micobactérias não tuberculosas (MNT) em 9% dos isolados. O método PRA-hsp65 confirmou esses dados, mostrando sete padrões de bandas capazes de identificar as espécies de MNT isoladas: Mycobacterium kansasii; M. abscessus 1; M. abscessus 2; M. smegmatis; M. flavescens 1; M. gordonae 5 e M. gordonae 7. Todos os pacientes com MNT tinham mais de 60 anos, e observaram-se bronquiectasias em 88% das radiografias. Houve dois casos de reinfecção, identificados inicialmente como infecção por M. abscessus e M. kansasii. CONCLUSÕES: As MNT causam infecção pulmonar em pacientes imunocompetentes, e a identificação das MNT é importante para estabelecer o diagnóstico correto e a decisão terapêutica mais adequada. O método PRA-hsp65 é útil para identificar espécies de MNT e pode ser implantado em laboratórios de biologia molecular não especializados em micobactérias.OBJECTIVE: To identify mycobacterial species in the sputum of patients suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis and to determine the impact that the acquisition of this knowledge has on the therapeutic approach. METHODS: We evaluated 106 patients suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis and referred to the pulmonology department of a public hospital in the city of Teresina, Brazil. Morning sputum specimens were evaluated for the presence of mycobacteria by sputum smear microscopy and culture. We used PCR and restriction enzyme analysis of the hsp65 gene (PRA-hsp65) to identify the strains of mycobacteria isolated in culture. RESULTS: A total of 206 sputum samples were analyzed. Patient ages ranged from 15 to 87 years, and 67% were male. There was cough in 100% of the cases. The predominant radiographic pattern was moderate disease, observed in 70%. Smear positivity was 76%, and isolation in culture occurred in 91% of the cultures. Traditional tests identified nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in 9% of the isolates. The PRA-hsp65 method confirmed these data, showing seven band patterns that were able to identify the isolated species of NTM: Mycobacterium kansasii; M. abscessus 1; M. abscessus 2; M. smegmatis; M. flavescens 1; M. gordonae 5; and M. gordonae 7. All of the patients with NTM were over 60 years of age, and bronchiectasis was seen in 88% of the X-rays. There were two cases of reinfection, initially attributed to M. abscessus and M. kansasii. CONCLUSIONS: In immunocompetent patients, NTM can infect the lungs. It is important to identify the specific NTM in order to establish the correct diagnosis and choose the most appropriate therapeutic regimen. The PRA-hsp65 method is useful in identifying NTM species and can be implemented in molecular biology laboratories that do not specialize in the identification of mycobacteria.

Conventional wisdom usually underestimates the important role of public research institutes and universities in successful cases of Brazilian economy. History of science and technology institutions shows a long-term process of formation of these institutions and their interactions with industrial firms, agricultural producers or society. This paper investigates historical roots of successful cases of Brazil. First, we present the late onset of National Innovation System (NSI) institutions and waves of institutional formation in Brazil. Second, we describe the history of three selected successful cases, which spans from a low-tech sector (agriculture), a medium-tech sector (steel and special metal alloys), to a high-tech sector (aircraft). These findings present new challenges for present-day developmental policies.

he study was performed in two silver-fir forests (Abies alba Mill.) located in Alto Molise, Province of Isernia: Collemeluccio, near Pescolanciano and Abeti Soprani near Capracotta. The aim of this work was to distinguish different types of wood rot on living silver fir individuals by using the Resistograph® (IML-RESI E400), a device that allows to estimate the variation of wood density by measuring the resistance to micro-perforation. The occurrence of different types of wood rot (white rot and brown rot) in living trees was pointed out and discriminated by the device. In the detected deteriorated zones, fungal pathogens and decomposers were isolated and identified, causing either white (Phellinus hartigii, Ganoderma adspersum, Heterobasidion abietinum and Armillaria ostoyae) or brown rot (Fomitopsis pinicola).

Marx has a method for the evaluation of patterns of interaction between finance and innovation. Two starting points of this method are the simultaneity of cause and effect and the identification of reciprocal effects between the monetary-financial dimension and the industrial-innovative dimension. This paper investigates this method firstly defining a dynamic concept of money. The connections between the monetary-financial dimension and the industrial-innovative dimension are examined through their historical and theoretical elements. Finally, the most important connections of this complex interaction are presented.

Heterobasidion annosum is an important pathogen, causing conifer root and butt rot. In Italy it attacks Pinus species both in mountain and in coastal plantations. Its diffusion is greatly enhanced during thinning, as its aerial inoculum germinates on new wounds or freshly cut butts. During thinning in the Castel Fusano Pinus pinea forest (Rome, Italy), in 2002-2005, a biological control trial was carried out for preventing new disease centres of a North American population of H. annosum, whose airborne spores were abundantly present. In particular, in February 2003 a suspension prepared with a native isolate of Phlebiopsis gigantea, previously studied in controlled environment, was applied on 23 butts. Observations on efficacy and persistence of the isolate in the treated stumps were carried out thirty months later. The pathogen was never detected in the stumps treated. Moreover, it was impossible to re-isolate from the upper part of the butts the P. gigantea individual isolate which had been profusely applied. These results confirm that the used isolate is an efficient biological control agent on P. pinea against the exotic isolates of H. annosum, and it is safe from an ecological point of view, as it does not trouble the natural succession of micro-organisms in butts.

Plant disease management may be improved by collecting, storing, manipulating, analysing and displaying epidemiological information using a Geographic Information System (GIS), a useful tool to evaluate plant disease problems in a spatial context. In this study, GIS analysis was applied along with global positioning systems (GPS) to integrate field data-collected with the spatial distribution of the pathogen Inonotus rickii. This pathogen provokes a decay of sapwood/heartwood and cankers, determining a progressive crown dieback and structural weakness of the trees, therefore increasing risk of branch breaks and tree failures. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical countries and it has already been recorded in many areas in Rome on Acer negundo, Albizia julibrissin, Koelreuteria paniculata, Celtis australis and Platanus x acerifolia. A survey was carried out in different boulevards of A. negundo and A. julibrissin with the aim of evaluating disease symptoms such as sparse foliage, dead twigs and branches, wood decay and presence of fungal structures. In this survey, I. rickii was recorded also on Robinia pseudoacacia, which is a new host. The study allowed to obtain thematic maps showing the spatial distribution of all infected trees, as well as the presence of anamorph and/or teleomorph structures of the fungus. Moreover, a map representing the incidence of the pathogen in different boulevards was obtained. The usefulness of GIS analysis in studies aimed to support and refine management strategies for disease control in urban trees is discussed.

O presente artigo analisa as relações existentes entre patentes e variáveis bancárias. Sua grande inovação está no uso de dados municipais para a referida análise, principalmente no que se refere a microdados bancários. Ainda de forma incipiente, procura-se avaliar através de um modelo Logit Ordenado quais as chances de um município se apresentar com alto ou baixo número de patentes em função das seguintes variáveis bancárias: acesso bancário, crédito, depósitos e inserção bancária. Os resultados apresentam fortes indícios de que uma maior presença de bons indicadores financeiros aumenta as probabilidades de sustentação da inovação e de que a alta concentração de ambas as esferas (tecnológica e financeira) atesta a forte relação entre inovação, crédito e espaço.This paper assesses the relationships between patents and banking variables. The main feature of the paper is the use of micro-data for quantitative and qualitative analyses that deal with financial and innovation variables at the level of municipalities. Drawing upon a Logit Model, the paper states that the probability of a municipality having high or low quantity of patents varies according to the higher or lower presence of banking variables such as bank access, credit, demand deposits and local insertion in the banking activity. The results generally point out to a positive relationship between innovation and financial variables and also show that the high concentration of the financial and technological variables is responsible for a strong interaction between innovation, credit, and space.

This paper investigates the existence of national styles of political economy. The characteristics and determinants of the German, the Austrian, the French, and the English styles are suggested. Some methodological implications for the historical economic thought are outlined.

Este artigo formula uma conjectura sobre o sistema de inovação no setor saúde no Brasil: a existência de uma "desconexão" entre as produções científica e tecnológica. A conjectura é avaliada por meio de estatísticas de patentes e artigos científicos. Essas estatísticas são utilizadas para localizar a posição do Brasil no cenário internacional e para cotejar as especializações de mesorregiões do País em termos de ciência e tecnologia. A desconexão no sistema de inovação do setor saúde investigada no artigo está relacionada à forte presença de patentes da área entre as patentes de não-residentes no Brasil e a problemas na balança comercial do setor.This paper conjectures about a disconnection between the scientific and the technological dimensions of the Brazilian health innovation system. Statistics of patents and scientific papers are used in the investigation of this conjecture. The international position of Brazil in regard to the health innovation system is identified. The disconnection between the scientific and technological productions in Brazil is investigated at the regional level. Deficits in the sectoral trade balance and the high percentage of health-related non-resident patents seem to be associated with the disconnection conjectured throughout this paper.

Este artigo faz uma avaliação da produção científica e tecnológica das regiões metropolitanas no Brasil a partir de estatísticas de patentes (depositadas no INPI) e de artigos científicos (indexados pelo ISI). O trabalho está dividido em cinco seções. A seção 1 resenha brevemente a literatura sobre interação entre ciência e tecnologia, desde o ponto de vista da abordagem dos sistemas nacionais de inovação. A seção 2 apresenta as bases de dados e um quadro geral da produção científica e tecnológica do Brasil. A seção 3 focaliza as regiões metropolitanas do Brasil, avaliando a distribuição das atividades científicas e tecnológicas entre elas e comparando-a com outros países. A seção 4 avalia as diferentes especializações científicas e tecnológicas das regiões metropolitanas avaliadas. A seção 5 conclui o trabalho.This paper evaluates the scientific and technological production of Metropolitan Areas in Brazil. The data are from the Brazilian Patent Office (Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial - INPI) and from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). The first section surveys the literature on interactions between universities and firms. The second section presents the data bases and a general picture of the Brazilian scientific and technological production. The third section focuses the Metropolitan Areas. The fourth section evaluates the different scientific and technological specializations of these Areas. The fifth section concludes the paper, discussion connections and disconnections in the Brazilian National System of Innovation.

Tomando como unidade de análise o município, o objetivo deste artigo é descrever a distribuição espacial das atividades científicas e tecnológicas no Brasil, a partir de estatísticas de patentes, artigos científicos e pesquisadores. A hipótese básica é que a relação produção científica versus produção tecnológica deve ser mediada por dimensões da análise econômica que contemplem tanto as variáveis diretamente relacionadas ao sistema de inovação como também seus determinantes espaciais. Para isto, são realizados alguns exercícios estatísticos, tais como o cálculo de Coeficientes de Gini para a produção científica tecnológica; análise de uma Matriz de Associação Geográfica e uma Análise de Regressão.This paper describes the spatial distribution of the scientific and technological activities in Brazil, using patents, scientific papers e researchers in a local level data. The basic hypothesis is that the relation between scientific production and technological production has to be understood as a merge among urban, spatial and innovation variables. Statistical tests are performed using Gini Coefficients for technological-scientific productions, Geographical Association Matrix and Linear Regression Analysis.

This article proposes a historical assessment of harmonic analysis of business cycles and its ability to both decompose and build cycles, as received at the Moscow Conjuncture Institute. It traces how the Fourier transform arrived at the Institute, mediated by Henry L. Moore, in the works and actions of Albert Vainshtein, Nikolai Chetverikov, and Nikolai Kondratiev, ultimately leading to Eugen Slutsky's well-known 1927 article "The Summation of Random Causes as the Source of Cyclic Processes." Although the evidence does not warrant the assumption that there was an orchestrated effort at the Institute to push forward a research agenda on harmonic analysis of business cycles, it certainly unfolded as more than the summation of random events and individual incursions. Moreover, the Institute as a whole could have produced much more on this matter if it had escaped Stalinist oppression for at least a few more years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uma nota sobre a motivação para inovar das empresas brasileiras

Estruturas financeiras, funcionalidade e sistemas nacionais de inovação: notas introdutórias sobre uma articulação necessária

A terceira edição de “The Economics of Industrial Innovation”

É inegável que as águas superficiais têm sua gestão mais desenvolvida que a das águas subterrâneas, porém diante da crescente utilização do recurso na fase subterrânea, faz-se necessário que estas sejam incorporadas nas legislações de recursos hídricos, com vistas à sua conservação e proteção. Torna-se indispensável, como preceito da Lei Federal nº. 9.433/97, que as águas sejam gerenciadas de forma racional e integrada, todavia devem-se considerar as particularidades de cada fase. O presente artigo analisa a situação da integração das águas superficiais e subterrâneas no âmbito das legislações federais e estaduais de recursos hídricos, destacando os instrumentos de outorga, enquadramento e cobrança pelo uso da água.

This paper presents data and statistical tests about an index of "relative internalization of technological activities" (RITA, henceforth) of transnational corporations located in Brazil. This indicator is the ratio between the non-resident patents applied by the headquarters of the transnational corporations to the Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI) and the resident patents applied by their subsidiaries. This paper describes the leading transnational corporations in non-resident patenting. The data are processed to investigate the correlation between the RITA indexes of each corporation and their characteristics such as 1) industrial sector; 2) technological class; 3) nationality; and 4) size. These statistical relations are calculated using Principal component analysis and regression analysis.

This short paper evaluates the contribution of transnationals' subsidiaries to the technological activities of Brazil. Patent statistics are used to this evaluation. Data provided by the Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI) and by the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) are organized in two databases: 1) invention patents granted to Brazilian residents by the INPI and by the USPTO, between 1980 and 1995; 2) patents applied by Brazilian residents and non-residents to the INPI, between 1988 and 1996. Using these databases this paper assesses the technological activities of foreign firms. The Fortune 500 1998 global corporations are investigated, comparing the transnationals' non-resident patents with the resident patents applied by their subsidiaries. This analysis indicates that the potential contributions of these corporations are not fully by the Brazilian system of innovation.

Ultimate lateral load calculation is essential in the design of laterally loaded piles. However, studies on ultimate soil resistance in front of laterally loaded piles have not yet discovered effective options in ultimate lateral load estimation. A computer code-based pile finite element discretization approach, which considers the nonlinearity of the soil-pile interaction, is discussed.