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CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais Candidíase vulvovaginal (CVV) é um dos diagnósticos mais frequentes na prática ginecológica e sua incidência tem aumentado drasticamente. Portanto, estudos regionais prospectivos tornam-se necessários para conhecimento da epidemiologia da doença. Tem sido reconhecida a emergência de outras espécies de leveduras, além de Candida albicans, como agentes etiológicos em infecções mono ou polimicrobianas, com reflexo direto na terapia antifúngica, frequentemente empírica. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a etiologia, o perfil epidemiológico de pacientes com candidíase vulvovaginal e possíveis fatores predisponentes, além da diversidade genética das leveduras. Secreção vaginal das pacientes foi semeada em Agar Sabouraud e amostras de leveduras foram isoladas e identificadas por PCR. Dados demográficos, clínicos e fatores predisponentes foram obtidos por meio de questionário. Genotipagem das leveduras foi realizada pela técnica de RAPD e matriz de similaridade foi construída para avaliação da diversidade de C. albicans e sua relação com os dados clínicos e epidemiológicos. Para análise estatística foram utilizados os testes t-Student, Fischer e qui-quadrado, com auxílio do software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), com nível de significância de 5%. Foram avaliadas 69 pacientes, entre 15 e 52 anos, predominando mulheres brancas (79,7%), com escolaridade de nível superior completo (58%), casadas (56,5%) e com vida sexual ativa (97,1%). Dentre elas, 34,8% eram gestantes, 7,2% diabéticas, 1,4% soropositivas para HIV e 36,2% usavam anticoncepcional oral. Antibioticoterapia recente foi citada por 13% das pacientes, uso de antifúngico por 5,8% e de antitricomonas por 1,4%. Uso de corticosteróides foi relatado por 2,9% das participantes e de anti-neoplásicos por 1,4%. Fluxo vaginal e prurido foram as principais queixas apresentadas, respectivamente, por 97,1% e 73,9% das pacientes, seguido de ardência (63,8%) e hiperemia (63,8%). Quando presente, o fluxo foi majoritariamente branco (88,1%) ou grumoso (86,6%). O diagnóstico foi confirmado pela cultura em 55 (79,7%) pacientes, sendo quatro casos de infecção mista. A espécie prevalente foi C. albicans, seguida por um caso de C. glabrata, que foi encontrada em mais duas pacientes em associação com C. albicans. Nas outras duas infecções polimicrobianas, C. lusitaniae foi isolada com C. albicans. A análise dos dados gerados pela genotipagem das leveduras permitiu discriminar linhagens de C. albicans na população amostrada. Foi possível evidenciar sete tipos eletroforéticos (TE) classificados como grupos I a VII, sendo os grupos I, II, III, IV, V e VI compostos por linhagens de levedura que apresentaram 100% de similaridade genética. No grupo VII foram incluídas linhagens de levedura altamente polimórficas que apresentaram no máximo 80% de semelhança. Embora nenhuma relação tenha sido estabelecida entre TE e dados clínicos e epidemiológicos, percebeu-se que os tipos I e IV são os mais prevalentes na população amostrada. Embora a positividade da cultura tenha sido alta e os dados clínicos de CVV sejam característicos, a sintomatologia não é patognomônica. C. albicans é a espécie prevalente, mas devese atentar para a ocorrência de outras espécies na etiologia de CVV, como a emergência de C. lusitaniae. Sugere-se realização do diagnóstico microbiológico com identificação da espécie envolvida e detecção de infecção mista antes da terapia antimicrobiana. The vulvovaginal candidiases (VVC) is one of the most frequent diagnosed disease in gynecological practice and its incidence has increased drastically. Therefore, regional prospective studies become necessary to better address epidemiological issues. It has been recognized the emergence of other yeast species, besides Candida albicans, as VVC in mono or polymicrobial infections, with direct reflex in antifungal therapy, often empirical. This study was focused on the etiology investigation, the epidemiological profile of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and predisposing factors, addition to the genetic diversity of yeasts. Vaginal secretions were streaked in Sabouraud agar and yeast samples were isolated and identified by PCR. Demographic and clinical data were obtained by questionnaire. For statistical analysis the Student t test, chi-square and Fischer, were applied as needed using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) with a significance level of 5 %. Yeast genotyping was performed by the RAPD approach, and a similarity matrix was obtained to evaluate C. albicans diversity and their relationships with clinical and epidemiological data. Sixty nine patients were evaluated between 15 and 52 years, predominantly white (79.7 %), with higher education (58 %), married (56.5 %) and sexually active (97.1 %). Among them, 34.8 % were pregnant, 7.2% diabetic, 1.4 % seropositive for HIV and 36.2 % using oral contraceptives. Recent antibiotic therapy was mentioned by 13 % of patients, and antifungal or anti-trichomonas therapy were mentioned by 5.8% and 1.4 % of the patients. Corticosteroid use was reported by 2.9 % and antineoplastic by 1.4 %. Vaginal discharge and itching were the main complaints (97.1 % and 73.9 %), followed by burning (63.8 %) and erythema (63.8 %). When present, the vaginal flow was predominantly white (88.1 %) or lumpy (86.6 %). The diagnosis was confirmed by culture in 55 (79.7 %) patients, with mixed infections in four patients. The most prevalent species was C. albicans, followed by C. glabrata (one monoinfection and two mixed infections with C. albicans). C. lusitaniae and C. albicans were also identified in mixed infections (two patients). The analysis of data generated by yeasts genotyping allowed discriminating different C. albicans strains in the sampled population. It was identified seven electrophoretic types (ET) classified within groups I to VII. The groups I, II, III, IV, V and VI included yeast strains with of 100% genetic similarity. In group VII were included the yeast strains highly polymorphic that present less than 80% of similarity. Despite the high culture positivity and clinical data being characteristic of VVC, the symptoms are not pathognomonic. C. albicans is the most prevalent species, but other species are also involved in the VVC etiology, as the emergence of C. lusitaniae. It is suggested the diagnosis and identification of microbial species involved including detection of mixed infections before antimicrobial chemotherapy.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether complexity interacts with Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) practices by positively moderating the impact of S&OP practices on manufacturing operational performance dimensions of quality, flexibility and delivery. Design/methodology/approach – Three hypotheses are developed on the relationships between S&OP practices, task complexity and process complexity and manufacturing operational performance. Scales are validated with structural equation modelling. The hypotheses are tested through a hierarchical regression analysis using data from a sample of 725 manufacturing plants from 21 countries. Findings – S&OP practices of organizational management, technological integration, measurement systems and integration of plans impact positively on manufacturing operational dimensions of quality, delivery and flexibility. Process complexity moderates the effect of S&OP practices, amplifying its impact upon all three performance dimensions. Product complexity moderates the effect on quality, but not on delivery and flexibility. Practical implications – S&OP practices of organizational and technological coordination of manufacturing and new product design; information technology to measure information sharing and planning; dedicated information systems do impact upon manufacturing operational performance. Results are amplified by process complexity. The more complex are the manufacturing processes the larger the gains of S&OP. Originality/value – This research applies contingency theory to S&OP and empirically demonstrates its impact on manufacturing operational performance and the moderator role of complexity.

To investigate the etiology and the epidemiological profile of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and predisposing factors.Vaginal secretions were streaked in Sabouraud agar and yeast samples were isolated and identified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Demographic and clinical data were obtained with a questionnaire. For statistical analysis, the Student's t-test, the χ² and Fischer tests were applied as needed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, with the level of significance set at 5%.Sixty-nine patients aged from 15 to 52 years were evaluated. They were predominantly white (79.7%), with higher education (58%), married (56.5%) and sexually active (97.1%). Among them, 34.8% were pregnant, 7.2% diabetic, 1.4% seropositive for AIDS, and 36.2% were using oral contraceptives. Recent antibiotic therapy was mentioned by 13% of the patients, and antifungal or anti-trichomonas therapy was mentioned by 5.8 and 1.4% of the patients, respectively. Corticosteroid use was reported by 2.9% and antineoplastic by 1.4%. Vaginal discharge and itching were the main complaints (97.1 and 73.9%), followed by burning (63.8%) and erythema (63.8%). When present, the vaginal flow was predominantly white (88.1%) or lumpy (86.6%). The diagnosis was confirmed by culture in 55 (79.7%) patients, with mixed infections in 4 patients. The most prevalent species was C. albicans, followed by C. glabrata (one monoinfection and two mixed infections with C. albicans). C. lusitaniae and C. albicans were also identified in mixed infections (two patients).Despite the high culture positivity and clinical data characteristic of VVC, the symptoms were not pathognomonic. C. albicans is the most prevalent species, but other species are also involved in VVC etiology, such as the emergence of C. lusitaniae.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Física, 2013. Nesta tese de doutorado, investigamos que tipo de equação de difusão é a mais apropriada para descrever a evolução temporal de um processo estocástico. Desenvolvemos uma nova ferramenta, baseada na representação canônica de funções características proposta por Paul Lévy, para analisar a primeira condição de compatibilidade de Chapman do processo esto- cástico associado a uma variável aleatória. Mostramos que o tipo de equação de difusão está relacionada com a propriedade de auto-similaridade com respeito à escala temporal da distri- buição de probabilidade subjacente. Aplicamos tal metodologia ao estudo de algumas séries financeiras de mercados cambiais. Soluções analíticas são obtidas utilizando o formalismo de Lévy da função característica e comparadas com dados empíricos. Realizamos estes estudos através de dois modelos: 1) Um modelo de difusão geométrica em que consideramos o termo estocástico como uma soma de um ruído de Wiener e um processo de salto. Salientamos os efeitos dos saltos na evolução temporal dos retornos, sugerindo que o processo pode ser descrito por uma função característica infinitamente divisível pertencente à classe de De Fi- netti em um modelo não-linear generalizado; 2) Modificamos o modelo de difusão geométrica assumindo uma evolução temporal não-exponencial e o termo estocástico é considerado como uma soma de um ruído de Wiener e um processo de salto. Em ambos os casos encontramos que a equação de difusão resultante obedece a uma equação de Kramers-Moyal e mostramos que os modelos propostos são capazes de explicar o comportamento de séries financeiras. _______________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT In this PhD thesis, we investigate which type of diffusion equation is most appropriate to describe the time evolution of a stochastic process. We develop a new tool, based on the canonical representation of characteristic functions developed by Paul Lévy, to analyze the first Chapman compatibility condition of the stochastic process associated to a continuous random variable. We show that the type of diffusion equation is related with the property of self-similarity with respect to the temporal scale of the underlying probability distribution. We apply this methodology to study of foreign exchange rates. Analytical solutions are obtained using Lévy formalism of characteristic functions and compared with empirical data. We realized these studies using two models: 1) A geometric diffusion model where we consider the stochastic term as a sum of the Wiener noise and a jump process. We point to the effects of the jumps on the return time evolution, suggesting that the process can be described by an infinitely divisible characteristic function belonging to the De Finetti class in a generalized nonlinear model; 2) We modify the geometric diffusion model assuming a non-exponencial time evolution and the stochastic term is the sum of a Wiener noise and a jump process. In both cases we find the resulting diffusion equation to obey the Kramers-Moyal equation and we show that the proposed models to be capable of explaining return behavior.

Skin tests with paracoccidioidin, histoplasmin and sporotrichin were applied to 417 workers of Morro Velho Mining in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the main purpose of detecting the prevalence of paracoccidioidomycosis-infection, histoplasmosis capsulate-infection and sporotrichosis-infection. The rates of positivity to the skin tests were 13.43% for paracoccidioidin, 17.50% for histoplasmin and 13.67% for sporotrichin. Several epidemiological factors were investigated for a better interpretation of the results. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum and Sporothrix schenkii were not isolated from the soil samples from the mines investigated.

Project Evidência [Evidence] intends to promote the use of scientific databases among nurses. This study aims to design educational interventions that facilitate nurses' access to these databases, to determine nurses' habits regarding the use of scientific databases, and to determine the impact that educational interventions on scientific databases have on Azorean nurses who volunteered for this project. An intervention project was conducted, and a quantitative descriptive survey was designed to evaluate the impact two and five months after the educational intervention. This impact was investigated considering certain aspects, namely, the nurses' knowledge, habits and reasons for using scientific databases. A total of 192 nurses participated in this study, and the primary results indicate that the educational intervention had a positive impact based not only on the increased frequency of using platforms or databases of scientific information (DSIs) s but also on the competence and self-awareness regarding its use and consideration of the reasons for accessing this information.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T12:18:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcio Tavares Lourenco.pdf: 1663252 bytes, checksum: 33fc4086e1a9a99cce9f6c60765ba700 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-17 Our conjecture is that the reasoning that takes place in physics classes is not purely a mathematical description of reality, but it is guaranteed through a reflective thinking. One can see that the discipline of philosophy allows contemplating and reflecting on topics that are the history of humanity and contribute to their evolution. It is the implications of insertions of the discipline philosophy and contributions that we believe to provide content of physics that can be related to the discipline of philosophy. Considering the importance of inclusion, we aimed at to evaluate the design of Physics teachers, in Campina Grande, about this insertion, and to develop and evaluate a teaching sequence, through the construction of educational specific material, involving the theme strength. For this, at first we did the literature search. In the second stage we searched the opinions of teachers of physics regarding the inclusion of Philosophy in high school. In the third phase we sought to show the possibility of such interaction, with the implementation of a didactic sequence, where we report from the elaboration of didactic material that can guide teachers to these contributions, relevant and inseparable from these disciplines to the methodological procedure. The material although was simple, served with a "starting point". For this we had a multidisciplinary approach, with the disciplines of Philosophy and Physics. The second time we used as data collection a questionnaire with 22 physics teachers. It was found that most of them think it is important to enter the discipline of Philosophy in high school. In the third time we had the didactic sequence, proposed by Professor of Physics together with Professor of Philosophy. This was applied in a classroom with 29 students, second degree of high school in a public school. The base was guiding the learning theory of Ausubel. For such purpose, we used classroom-four hours giving a total of three hours of duration. The evaluation was performed, based on two steps: (1) participation of students with questions by the reflections from their contact with the material offered and (2) using a questionnaire with eight questions. Among the twenty-nine students, we conclude that only fourteen understood the evolution of the concept of force over time. Even so, this proposal was important for students to realize and understand how it was the emergence and development of the concept of force. By bringing together the disciplines of Physics and Philosophy in a single speech with a simple material, we hope to have developed in the students a critical view of science, particularly Physics. A view that can show that scientific thoughts change with time, that scientific theories are not definitive and irrevocable, that the insertion of the discipline of Philosophy is not only an increase of one more discipline, it can allow contributing to a more appropriate school, and be a discipline that can relating or making connections with other disciplines. A nossa conjectura é de que o raciocínio que se estabelece nas aulas de Física não é puramente a descrição matemática da realidade, mas este é garantido através de um pensar reflexivo. É possível observar que a disciplina de Filosofia permite contemplar e refletir sobre temas que constituem a história da humanidade e que contribuem para seu processo evolutivo. São nas implicações da inserção da disciplina Filosofia e nas contribuições que esta pode fornecer que acreditamos que conteúdos de Física podem ser atrelados a disciplina de Filosofia. Considerando a importância desta inserção, objetivou-se avaliar a concepção dos professores de Física, do município de Campina Grande-PB, acerca desta inserção elaborar e avaliar uma sequência didática, através da construção de material pedagógico específico, envolvendo o tema Força. No primeiro momento, fizemos a pesquisa bibliográfica. No segundo momento procuramos saber a opinião dos professores de Física no que se refere à inserção de Filosofia no Ensino Médio. No terceiro momento procuramos evidenciar a possibilidade de tal interação, com a aplicação de uma sequência didática, em que relatamos desde a elaboração de um material didático que possa nortear tais professores para as contribuições, relevantes e indissociáveis, de tais disciplinas até o procedimento metodológico. O material, embora, seja simples, serviu como ponto de partida . Para isso tivemos um trabalho multidisciplinar, com as disciplinas de Filosofia e Física. Quanto ao segundo momento, utilizamos como coleta de dados, um questionário com 22 professores de Física. Foi verificado que a maioria acha importante a inserção da disciplina de Filosofia no Ensino Médio. Quanto ao terceiro momento, utilizamos a sequência didática, proposta pelo professor de Física conjuntamente com a professora de Filosofia. Esta foi aplicada em uma turma, com 29 alunos, da segunda série do Ensino Médio, de uma escola da rede pública. A base norteadora foi a teoria da aprendizagem de Ausubel. Para isso foram utilizadas quatro horas-aulas, em um total de três horas. A avaliação da proposta foi realizada tomando como base duas etapas: (1) participação dos alunos com questionamentos pelas reflexões advindas do contato com o material proposto (2) aplicação de um questionário, com oito questões. Dos vinte e nove alunos, constatamos que apenas quatorze compreendeu a evolução do conceito de força ao longo dos tempos. Mesmo assim, esta proposta foi importante para que os alunos percebessem e entendessem como foi o surgimento e o desenvolvimento do conceito de Força. Ao reunir as disciplinas de Física e Filosofia, em uma intervenção, com um material simples, esperamos ter desenvolvido nos alunos um olhar crítico sobre a Ciência, em particular, a Física. Um olhar que possa evidenciar que o pensamento científico se modifica com o tempo, e que as teorias científicas não são definitivas e irrevogáveis. Que a inserção da disciplina de Filosofia, não seja apenas um acréscimo de mais uma disciplina, mas que esta permita ou possa contribuir para um Ensino Médio mais adequado, sendo uma disciplina que possa atrelar ou fazer conexões com as outras disciplinas.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Física, 2009. Equações de difusão são largamente utilizadas na obtenção de propriedades de séries temporais estocásticas. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é determinar os processos pelos quais uma equação de difusão deve ser modelada por uma expansão de Kramers-Moyal ou por uma equação de Fokker-Planck. Este estudo será feito através da utilização de funções características em sua forma canônica e da chamada função de Lévy, introduzida pelo matemático francês Paul Lévy para medir a distância de distribuições para uma gaussiana. Vericaremos como a convergência de distribuições de variáveis aleatórias influencia a escolha do tipo de equação difusiva a ser adotada. Veremos que os conceitos de auto-similiridade e continuidade em distribuição na análise de variáveis aleatórias são determinantes na obtenção das propriedades difusivas de um sistema estocástico. Em particular, estudaremos o movimento Browniano modelado por mapas lineares com ruído aleatório. Daremos bastante ênfase ao papel do ruído ao mostrar, analiticamente e computacionalmente, que sua forma influi no tipo de difusão apresentado pelo sistema. Como perspectiva de trabalho, enfocaremos a possibilidade de utilização de equações difusivas na modelagem de séries financeiras. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Diffusion equations are widely used to obtain properties of stochastic time series. The main goal of this work is to determine the processes by which a diffusion equation can be modeled by a Kramers-Moyal expansion or by a Fokker-Planck equation. This study will be done through the use of characteristic functions in its canonical form and the so-called Lévy function, introduced by French mathematician Paul Lévy to measure the distance of distributions from the Gaussian. We will show how the convergence of random variables distributions affects the choice of diffusive equation to be adopted. We will see how the concepts of self-similarity and continuity in distribution in the random variables' analysis are crucial to obtain the diffusive properties of a stochastic system. In particular, we will study the Brownian motion modeled by linear maps with random noise. We will rather focus on the role of noise to show, analytically and computationally, that its form affects the type of diffusion presented by the system. As work perspective, we will focus the use of diffusive equations for modeling financial series.

FUNDAMENTOS: A pitiríase versicolor é uma infecção crônica recorrente da camada córnea causada pela Malassezia furfur, geralmente assintomática, podendo ser causa de fungemia. A síndrome da imunodeficiência adquirida caracteriza-se por uma importante depressão celular, o que propicia a ocorrência de infecções oportunistas. OBJETIVOS: Dados a imunodepressão causada pelo HIV e o risco da presença de M. furfur em sua forma patogênica no imunocomprometido, realizou-se este trabalho comparativo buscando as reais diferenças da pitiríase versicolor no imunocompetente e no imunodeprimido pelo HIV. PACIENTES E MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados, no período de julho de 1998 a junho de 1999, 50 pacientes HIV positivos do Hospital Universitário da UFJF. Como grupo controle, foram examinados de forma aleatória 50 pacientes soronegativos para HIV. Para cada paciente foi preenchido um protocolo constando de identificação e exames clínicos e laboratoriais. RESULTADOS: A pitiríase versicolor foi diagnosticada clinicamente no grupo HIV positivo em sete (14%) pacientes, resultado coincidente no grupo controle. Quanto ao passado para a pitiríase versicolor, 12 (24%) pacientes já haviam apresentado tal doença no grupo HIV positivo, e igual incidência ocorreu no grupo controle. CONCLUSÕES: A pitiríase versicolor não se mostrou mais freqüente e nem mais agressiva na população imunodeprimida pelo HIV em relação ao grupo controle, enquanto a dermatite seborréica apresentou-se mais freqüente no grupo infectado pelo HIV. BACKGROUND: Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a recurrent, chronic infection of the stratum corneum due to Malassezia furfur that is generally asymptomatic and has the potential of leading to fungemia. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is characterized by a severe cellular depression, which facilitates the occurrence of opportunist infections. OBJECTIVES: Given the immunodepression caused by HIV and risk this entails for the presence of the pathogenic form of M. furfur, this work sought the real differences in PV affecting immunocompetent hosts compared to immunocompromised HIV-patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From July 1998 to June 1999, 50 HIV-positive outpatients from the Teaching Hospital were studied. The control group comprised of 50 HIV-negative patients. The protocol for each patient included identification, clinical and laboratory examination. RESULTS: PV was clinically diagnosed in the HIV-positive group in 7 (14%) patients, with the same number in the control group. As for prior history, 12 (24%) patients in the HIV-positive group reported having previously presented PV, the same incidence was found in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: PV was neither more frequent nor more severe in the HIV-immunocompromised group compared to the control group, whereas seborrheic dermatitis was more frequent in the former.

Today's supply chains (SC) are acting in an ever more complex, dynamic and uncertain business environment. Increased customer expectations regarding product variety, shortened product life-cycles and volatile demand motivate the need for supply chain flexibility (SCF) in the face of stiff competition and environmental changes. Flexibility processes implementation in supply chains varies according to companies and SC, due to several factors. The level of awareness of the need for flexibility, the proactive or reactive plan and use of flexibility; and the focus on the SC as a whole or in single companies are examples. The concept of process maturity assumes that the implementation of procedures is carried out in multiple evolutionary and successive stages, which are explicitly defined, managed and measured. Maturity models give companies indicators as well as guidance to analyze and subsequently improve their processes. Despite several SC maturity models in the literature, there is not a model focusing on the maturity of SC flexibility processes, like the one intended in this paper. The levels of the maturity of SCF are (1) none, (2) inter-firm, (3) SC reactive, (4) SC proactive, and (5) SC paradigmatic. Each level has five dimensions: (1) Collaboration, (2) Information Technology, (3) Information flow, (4) Internal flexibility types and (5) Performance measurement. A toy case drawn from the automotive industry illustrates the application of the model from a dyad perspective. Based on the findings, SC flexibility maturity levels are measured in each of the analyzed links and areas for improvement are identified.

Data from the 1980 Survey of Maternal-Child Health/Family Planning in Northeastern Brazil (Bahia Paraiba Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte) indicate a mean duration of breastfeeding of 6.6 months and a mean postpartum amenorrhea of 3.8 months. Given the relatively high infant mortality in the area and the known health benefits of breastfeeding the short duration can be considered to have a deleterious effect on the health of the population. The data indicate that women who use maternal and child health services are less likely than others to breastfeed. Since these women may be the most likely to change their behavior if they could be convinced of the benefits of breastfeeding a campaign to increase awareness of these benefits could have some effect on infant health in the area. The Sociedade Civil Bem-Estar Familiar no Brasil conducted the survey. (authors modified)

Estoques ocupam um lugar central na economia e nas empresas contemporâneas. Novos paradigmas surgem na gestão de estoques, cada vez mais percebidos como elemento estratégico para a criação de valor na cadeia de suprimento. Estoques passaram a constituir um elemento chave na busca constante por vantagens competitivas entre empresas. Esta dissertação revê os principais conceitos e definições de estoques de produtos acabados. Modelos, heurísticas e políticas de estoques aplicadas a sistemas de distribuição de produtos de varejo envolvendo vários produtos, Um almoxarifado e N revendedores, são definidos. Métodos de agrupamento de itens em classes ABC homogêneas são revistos e ilustrados com aplicações numéricas a produtos do ramo farmacêutico. São definidos os principais modelos e políticas de gestão de estoques adequados às diferentes classes de produtos do estudo de caso. A lógica de ressuprimentos coordenados de produtos de varejo em cadeias de suprimento de elos múltiplos é apresentada com a ajuda de exemplos. Finalmente, políticas alternativas de estoques para diferentes classes de produtos em sistemas de distribuição divergentes são apresentadas. Aspectos práticos ligados à implantação de modelos matemáticos e políticas de estoques em redes de varejo são enfatizados na conclusão do trabalho. Inventories are a central piece in contemporary economies and businesses. New paradigms appear in the area of inventory management, which is being increasingly perceived as a strategic element for value creation in supply chains. Inventories became a key element in the constant search for competitive advantages among companies. This dissertation reviews the main concepts and definitions of inventories as applied to finished products. Inventory models, heuristics and policies for distribution systems of retail products involving several products, One-warehouse and N retailers, are defined. Methods designed to regroup items in ABC classes are reviewed and illustrated by numerical applications to pharmaceutical products. The main models and inventory control policies adapted to different classes of products from the case study are defined. The logic of coordinated resupply of retail products in multi-echelon supply chains is presented with examples. Finally, alternative inventory policies for different classes of products in divergent distribution systems are presented. Practical aspects related to the implementation of mathematical models and policies in retail supply chains are emphasized in the conclusion of this work.

Summary The effects of breast-feeding on infant health have been a topic of considerable discussion in recent years. In this paper multivariate techniques are used to examine the relationship between the failure to breast-feed and mortality among infants in four states of north east Brazil. It was found that breast-fed children were significantly more likely to survive infancy than children who were never breast-fed, even when other socio-economic, demographic and health variables were taken into account. This relationship was much more marked in rural than in urban settings. Other variables significantly associated with mortality were parity, mother's age at child's birth, mother's employment status and use of maternal/child health services. These findings are important for the particular population studied as well as for much of Latin America where incidence and duration of breast-feeding tend to be low but infant mortality is quite high