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One of the tools to monitor the dynamics of the Covid-19 pandemic has been, from its earliest days, the international comparison of mortality rates. The indisputable evidence that lethality is exponentially related to the age of the affected people implies that, for many purposes, a more appropriate indicator should compensate for differences in the age profile between populations. This article sets out a method for calculating such standardized mortality rates, which take into account both the discrepancies in the age pyramids and the mortality rates by age groups. Advancing relatively to the few other similar initiatives found in the literature, the method is applied to a group of 28 countries that on 1/28/2021 accounted for 82% of deaths caused by the pandemic. The age-adjusted mortality rates describe a picture quite different from that portrayed by the crude rates, with three different patterns of mortality. Six Latin American countries and South Africa assume leading positions in the ranking calculated based on these rates. Moreover, a partial but sufficiently accurate update of the calculation based on the number of deaths until 3/26/2021 indicates that in this ranking Brazil only stands behind Mexico and Peru.

RESUMO O perfil social dos dirigentes de empresas é um tema que interessa tanto às ciências sociais, em seus estudos sobre as elites, quanto à administração, que frequentemente busca vínculos entre o desempenho das firmas e características dos indivíduos que as dirigem. Este artigo almeja contribuir para ambos os campos de conhecimento analisando uma característica específica, a formação acadêmica nos níveis de graduação e pós-graduação, de um importante grupo social, os dirigentes de instituições financeiras brasileiras. Com esse propósito, foi construída uma base de dados sobre 1.016 indivíduos a partir de informações coletadas nos sites dessas empresas. Essa base cobre 19 bancos, inclusive os cinco maiores do País, e 65 instituições financeiras não bancárias. Entre os principais resultados, pode-se destacar: a proporção muito pequena (13%) de mulheres; a baixa frequência (17%) de dirigentes com cursos de pós-graduação stricto sensu; e a concentração (79%) das graduações em três áreas de conhecimento (administração, economia e engenharia), em relativamente poucas instituições – metade das graduações em apenas seis instituições – e, mais ainda, em instituições de ensino localizadas no eixo Rio-São Paulo (81% do total). The social profile of firms’ top-managers is an issue that is of interest both for the social sciences, in the studies of elites, and management, which often search for links between the performance of companies and the characteristics of the individuals who run them. This article seeks to contribute to both fields of knowledge by analyzing a specific characteristic, academic education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, of an important social group, the heads of Brazilian financial institutions. For this purpose, a database on 1,016 individuals was built from information collected from their résumés published on the companies’ websites. This base comprehends 19 banks, including the five largest in the country, and 65 non-bank financial institutions. Among the main results, we can highlight the very small proportion (13%) of women; the low frequency (17%) of top-managers with graduate courses; and the concentration (79%) of degrees in three areas of knowledge (administration, economics, and engineering), in relatively few institutions – half of the degrees in only six institutions – and, even more, in educational institutions located on the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (81% of the total). El perfil social de los altos directivos de las empresas es un tema de interés tanto para las ciencias sociales, en sus estudios sobre las élites, como a la gestión, que a menudo busca vínculos entre el desempeño de las empresas y las características de las personas que las dirigen. Este artículo busca contribuir a ambos campos del conocimiento mediante el análisis de una característica específica, la formación académica en los niveles de pregrado y posgrado, de un importante grupo social, los jefes de las instituciones financieras brasileñas. Para este propósito, se construyó una base de datos de 1.016 individuos a partir de la información recopilada en los sitios web de estas empresas. Esta base comprende 19 bancos, incluidos los cinco más grandes del país, y 65 instituciones financieras no bancarias. Entre los principales resultados, podemos destacar la muy pequeña proporción (13%) de mujeres; la baja frecuencia (17%) de gerentes con cursos de posgrado; y la concentración (79%) de títulos en tres áreas de conocimiento (administración, economía e ingeniería), en relativamente pocas instituciones (la mitad de los títulos en solo seis instituciones) y, aún más, en instituciones educativas ubicadas en el eje Río-São Paulo (81% del total).

Direction finding (DF) systems are used to determine the direction-of-arrival (DoA) of electromagnetic waves, thus allowing for the tracking of RF sources. In this paper, we present an alternative formulation of antenna arrays for modeling DF systems. To improve the accuracy of the data provided by the DF systems, the effects of mutual coupling in the array, polarization of the received waves, and impedance mismatches in the RF front-end receiver are all taken into account in the steering vectors of the DoA algorithms. A closed-form expression, which uses scattering parameter data and active-element patterns, is derived to compute the receiver output voltages. Special attention is given to the analysis of wave polarization relative to the DF system orientation. Applying the formulation introduced here, a complete characterization of the received waves is accomplished without the need for system calibration techniques. The validation of the proposed model is carried out by measurements of a 2.2 GHz DF system running a MUSIC algorithm. Tests are performed with a linear array of printed monopoles and with a planar microstrip antenna array having polarization diversity. The experimental results show DoA estimation errors below 6° and correct classification of the polarization of incoming waves, confirming the good performance of the developed formulation.

The detection and the analysis of in field early degradation of a grid connected photovoltaic system located at the Institute of Energy and Environment of the University of Sao Paulo (IEE-USP) are presented. The PV generator is composed by 260 W photovoltaic (PV) modules made of N-type monocrystalline silicon PV cells. Loss of generation capability during the second year of operation was revealed by the PV system’s SCADA. Subsequent measurements showed similarities with strong ageing degradation mechanisms and Potential Induced Degradation (PID) was also detected.

Orientador: Wilmar da Rocha D'Angelis Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem Resumo: Esta dissertação busca reconstruir a fonologia e o léxico do Proto-Jê meridional (PJM). O Jê meridional é um dos três ramos da família jê e é composto por cinco línguas: Xokleng, Kaingang, Kaingang paulista, Ingain e Kimdá. Enquanto o foco principal dos trabalhos comparativos publicados sobre o PJM foi a fonologia, este estudo se concentra também na reconstrução de uma grande porção do seu léxico. Esta pesquisa adotou todos os trabalhos anteriores como base. Compõe-se de sete capítulos: §1 descreve alguns aspectos da origem dos povos jê meridionais e de suas línguas, baseando-se em dados históricos e arqueológicos. §2-§3 tratam essencialmente de tópicos teóricos relacionados com lingüística histórico-comparativa, modelos dinâmicos de mudança lingüística e análise fonológica numa perspectiva estruturalista. §4. descreve o sistema fonológico de cada membro do PJM; traz (i) um esboço dos segmentos fonéticos, (ii) a descrição dos fonemas vocálicos e consonantais com base nos critérios de variação livre, distribuição complementar e oposição, discriminando suas realizações nos seus diversos ambientes e (iii) a estrutura silábica e suas restrições fonotáticas. Em §5. reconstruo o sistema fonológico do PJM, detalhando as inovações ocorridas em cada língua e uma série de mudanças fonológicas inexplicáveis. Em §6. o léxico do PJM é apresentado com detalhamento morfológico. No último capítulo exponho algumas considerações léxico-estatísticas e glotocronológicas e proponho algumas questões para pesquisas futuras Abstract: This dissertation attempts to reconstruct Proto-Southern Jê (PSJ) phonology and its lexicon. The Southern Jê is one of the three branches of the Jê family and comprises five languages: Xokleng, Kaingang, São Paulo Kaingang, Ingain and Kimdá. While other comparative works have focused mainly on PSJ phonology, this study concentrates too on the reconstruction of a wide range of its lexicon. This research acknowledged all the previous works as a start point. It has seven main chapters: §1 describes some aspects of the origin of the southern Jê peoples and languages, based on archaeological and some historical records; §2-§3 deal essentially with theoretical topics on historical linguistics, dynamic models of language change and phonological analysis in a structuralist perspective. §4. describes the phonological system of each of the members of PSJ (excepting Kimdá), encompassing: (i) a sketch of the phonetic segments; (ii) a description of the vocalic and consonantal phonemes based on criteria of free variation, complementary distribution and opposition, and (iii) their syllable structure and accentual pattern, as well as their phonemic distribution. In §5. I reconstruct the phonological system of PSJ, detailing the innovations regarded to each language as well as a series of unexplained sound changes. In §6. a lexicon of the PSJ is presented with morphological details. The last chapter features some considerations about the time depth of PSJ and fetches some questions for future research Mestrado Lingüística Mestre em Linguística

Isolated large communities in the Amazon region of Brazil are power by Islanded grids powered by diesel generator systems. The costs of these systems are high due to the complex and unreliable fuel supply chain. Including large-scale photovoltaic installations in these isolated grids have the potential to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of electricity. This paper investigates the impact of PV generation insertion on the specific consumption of isolated thermoelectric power plants. A diesel thermoelectric power plant (DTPP) of 4 MW, supplying electric energy to an isolated grid, was used as a case study. Five Photovoltaic penetration levels are evaluated, considering the operational regulatory constraints, three diesel generators (A, B and C), two daily solar irradiance profiles and annual solar irradiance profiles, and two dispatch strategies. The power plant loading range is bounded by the Brazilian regulatory framework to comply with fuel consumption efficiency measures and to guarantee the reliable operation. In the evaluated scenarios, PV penetration was not subject to power curtailment measures controlled by the DTPP. However, the power plant loading range considers both variation of photovoltaic generation and load. The results presented in this paper indicate that maintaining a higher number of machines in operation can make the DTPP more reliable to absorb the PV generation variations, enabling the growth of the PV penetration on the electric system, reducing the DTPP's fuel consumption and return on investment (payback) of the PV system without change significantly the DTPP's specific consumption. The results also show that the quality of the diesel generator is more important to keep specific fuel consumption low than the dispatch strategy used for a given PV penetration. The replacement of Generator A (less efficient) for B (more efficient) together the PV penetration of 50%, for example, can achieve a yearly fuel consumption reduction superior to 1 million liters. For the same PV penetration, an average annual reduction of 0.78 million liters in DTPP’s fuel consumption can be reached, with PayBacks that could come close to 1.4 years.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Departamento de Linguística, Português e Línguas Clássicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, 2016. Esta pesquisa objetiva apresentar um modelo diacrônico da diversificação linguística na região tropical da América do Sul, como também mapear as esferas de interação ali existentes durante a pré‐história. Para este fim foi adotada uma plataforma arqueo‐ecolinguística de investigação, que se caracteriza pela compilação e integração de dados linguísticos, arqueológicos, antropológicos, (etno‐)históricos e genéticos representativos da área de estudo numa perspectiva ecossistêmica – de modo que as evidências utilizadas para respaldar as explicações deste modelo sejam multidimensionais e, consequentemente, menos suscetíveis a ambiguidades interpretativas. Além disto, este estudo busca contribuir para o aprofundamento da área de estudos conhecida como Ecolinguística e, ao focar em sua dimensão diacrônica, propõe a incorporação de uma interface arqueológica nesta plataforma investigativa. Esta nova disciplina foi denominada arqueo-ecolinguística. A tese apresenta‐se dividida em três partes e contém cinco capítulos. A parte I, com 2 capítulos, é um detalhamento da fundamentação teórico‐epistemológica. Em §1 são apresentados os conceitos não linguísticos que fundamentam os estudos ecolinguísticos e em §2 são apresentados e aprofundados os fundamentos propriamente linguísticos desta área de estudos ainda emergente. A parte II, com 3 capítulos, encerra a investigação propriamente dita, que objetiva a apresentação do modelo acima referido. §3 é uma caracterização arqueo‐ecolinguística do espaço-tempo em análise, onde estão contextualizadas as geografias física e humana. Para retratar a geografia humana na dimensão diacrônica, uma reconstrução da diversidade etnolinguística no momento da invasão europeia é associada a um panorama arqueológico detalhado. Em §4 são apresentados os dados e análises linguísticos e evidenciados os conjuntos etnolinguísticos que estiveram em contato durante algum momento da pré-história e §5 encerra a formalização do modelo arqueo‐ecolinguístico acima referido, com um mapeamento das esferas de interação que teriam emergido no período em análise. Enfim, a parte III apresenta as considerações finais a partir dos resultados alcançados. Tais resultados mostram uma ampla gama de situações de contato e explicitam que se desenvolveram duas tendências diametralmente opostas, associadas respectivamente aos Andes e às terras baixas tropicais a leste dos Andes: enquanto na primeira região houve uma tendência à homogeneização linguística, a tendência observada na última foi no sentido de uma aceleração da diversificação. Com o entrecruzamento dos dados multidisciplinares, pôde‐se concluir (i) que os comportamentos evolutivos opositivos detectados nestas duas regiões foram diretamente motivados por características distintivas observadas nos três âmbitos (físico, social e mental) dos ecossistemas linguísticos reconstruídos para cada uma das mesmas e (ii) que tal tendência opositiva foi reforçada justamente em decorrência da influência sinergética provocada pelo contínuo feedback de tais peculiaridades. Estas observações, em suma, comprovam a veracidade do caráter multidimensional do EFL e que a evolução linguística é intrinsecamente dependente e efetivamente motivada pela conjuntura de todas as dimensões de uma realidade ecolinguística qualquer. This research aims to present a diachronic model of linguistic diversity in the tropical region of South America, as well as to map the interaction spheres that arose therein during prehistory. For this purpose the Archaeo-Ecolinguistics approach was chosen, which is characterized by compiling and integrating linguistic, archaeological, anthropological, (ethno)-historical and genetic data representative of the study area, so that the evidences used to support this explanatory model are multidimensional and hence less susceptible to interpretative ambiguity. In addition, this study attempts to deepen the theoretical foundations of the field of research known as Ecolinguistics and by focusing on its diachronic dimension, proposes the incorporation of an archaeological interface this investigative platform. This new discipline was, then, called Archaeo-Ecolinguistics. The dissertation contains three parts and five chapters. Part I, consisting of two chapters, is a breakdown of the theoretical and epistemological foundations. In §1 non-linguistic concepts underlying Ecolinguistics studies are presented and in §2 a comprehensive description of the linguistic concepts underlying this emergent field of research is presented. Part II, consisting of three chapters, focuses on the presentation of the aforementioned diachronic model. §3 is an archaeo-ecolinguistic characterization of the study area by its physical and human geographies. To portray the human geography in its diachronic dimension, a reconstruction of the ethno-linguistic diversity at the time of European invasion is offered in association with a detailed archaeological panorama. In §4 the data and the linguistic analyses are presented, highlighting the ethnolinguistic groups that have been in contact for some time in prehistory and §5 encloses the formalization of the aforementioned archaeo-ecolinguistic model along with the mapping of the interaction spheres that have emerged during that period. Finally, Part III presents some additional conclusions based on the aforementioned results. These results show a wide range of contact situations and point that two opposite tendencies developed respectively in the Andes and in the tropical Lowlands east of the Andes: while in the Andes there was a trend towards linguistic homogenization, in the Lowlands east of the Andes the observed trend was towards an acceleration of linguistic diversification. By combining the multidisciplinary data it was concluded (i) that the opposite evolutionary behaviors detected in these two areas were directly motivated by distinctive features observed in the three ranges (physical, social and mental) of the reconstructed linguistic ecosystems circumscribed in each of these regions and (ii) that this opposite tendency was strengthened by the synergetic effect caused by the continuous feedback of such peculiarities. These observations, in short, prove the veracity of the multidimensional nature of the EFL and that linguistic evolution is intrinsically dependent and effectively motivated by the conjuncture of all the dimensions of reality.

In this study, the performance of two types of source apportionment models was evaluated by assessing the results provided by 40 different groups in the framework of an intercomparison organised by FAIRMODE WG3 (Forum for air quality modelling in Europe, Working Group 3). The evaluation was based on two performance indicators: z-scores and the root mean square error weighted by the reference uncertainty (RMSEu), with pre-established acceptability criteria. By involving models based on completely different and independent input data, such as receptor models (RMs) and chemical transport models (CTMs), the intercomparison provided a unique opportunity for their cross-validation. In addition, comparing the CTM chemical profiles with those measured directly at the source contributed to corroborate the consistency of the tested model results. The most commonly used RM was the US EPA- PMF version 5. RMs showed very good performance for the overall dataset (91% of z-scores accepted) while more difficulties were observed with the source contribution time series (72% of RMSEu accepted). Industrial activities proved to be the most difficult sources to be quantified by RMs, with high variability in the estimated contributions. In the CTMs, the sum of computed source contributions was lower than the measured gravimetric PM10 mass concentrations. The performance tests pointed out the differences between the two CTM approaches used for source apportionment in this study: brute force (or emission reduction impact) and tagged species methods. The sources meeting the z-score and RMSEu acceptability criteria tests were 50% and 86%, respectively. The CTM source contributions to PM10 were in the majority of cases lower than the RM averages for the corresponding source. The CTMs and RMs source contributions for the overall dataset were more comparable (83% of the z-scores accepted) than their time series (successful RMSEu in the range 25% - 34%). The comparability between CTMs and RMs varied depending on the source: traffic/exhaust and industry were the source categories with the best results in the RMSEu tests while the most critical ones were soil dust and road dust. The differences between RMs and CTMs source reconstructions confirmed the importance of cross validating the results of these two families of models. © 2019 The Authors, The authors warmly thank J. Vercauteren (VMM) for providing the CHEMKAR dataset. The CARA program was funded by the French Ministry of environment . IMT Lille Douai participates in the CaPPA project funded by the ANR through the PIA under contract ANR-11-LABX-0005-01 , the “Hauts de France” Regional Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The C2TN/IST author gratefully acknowledges the FCT support through the UID/Multi/04349/2013 project. J.L. Jaffrezo would like to thank F. Donnaz, F. Masson, and S. Ngo for the chemical analyses of the Lens samples performed at IGE (ECOC, ions, sugars). These were possible on the Air-O-Sol analytical platform supported by Labex OSUG@2020 (ANR10 LABX56). A. Angyal was supported by National Research, Development and Innovation Office – NKFIH , contract number PD 125086 . H. Jorquera acknowledges support from Grant CONICYT/FONDAP/15110020. P . Thunis commented on an early version of the manuscript.

Forecasting the AC power output of a PV plant accurately is important both for plant owners and electric system operators. Two main categories of PV modeling are available: the parametric and the nonparametric. In this paper, a methodology using a nonparametric PV model is proposed, using as inputs several forecasts of meteorological variables from a Numerical Weather Forecast model, and actual AC power measurements of PV plants. The methodology was built upon the R environment and uses Quantile Regression Forests as machine learning tool to forecast AC power with a confidence interval. Real data from five PV plants was used to validate the methodology, and results show that daily production is predicted with an absolute cvMBE lower than 1.3%.

Forecast procedures for large ground mounted PV plants or smaller BIPV or BAPV systems may use a parametric or a nonparametric model of the PV system. In this paper, both approaches are used independently to calculate the energy delivered to the grid on an hourly basis in forecast procedures that use meteorological variables from a Numerical Weather Prediction model as inputs, and their performances against real generation data from six PV plants are analyzed. The parametric approach relies on mathematical models with several parameters that describe the PV systems and it was implemented in MATLAB®, whereas the nonparametric approach is based on Quantile Regression Forests with training and forecast stages and its code was built in R . The parametric approach presented more significant bias on its results, mostly due to the input data and the transposition model of irradiance from a horizontal surface to the plane of the PV array.

O Brasil experimentou, nos últimos anos, uma crescente inserção de fontes intermitentes de energia em sua matriz elétrica, em especial a eólica e a solar fotovoltaica. A geração fotovoltaica, que hoje representa menos de 1% da potência instalada no Sistema Interligado Nacional, seguramente alcançará um grau significativo de participação na geração de energia elétrica na próxima década. Isso alimentará muitas discussões sobre os problemas, bem como suas respectivas soluções, associados à integração em grande escala da geração fotovoltaica no sistema elétrico, em especial devido à intermitência natural do recurso primário. Essas discussões são importantes, inevitáveis, e, considerando o tempo necessário para que ocorram mudanças de paradigmas em um setor tão complexo como o elétrico, também são urgentes, devendo ser iniciadas o quanto antes para que o setor elétrico não seja surpreendido por um movimento com o qual não estará maduro o suficiente para lidar. Este trabalho aborda, sob um ponto de vista técnico, os efeitos da inserção em grande escala da geração fotovoltaica no sistema elétrico, buscando, por um lado, averiguar a real dimensão do problema, e, por outro, mostrar que há meios e tecnologias disponíveis atualmente para contornar os possíveis impactos negativos. O trabalho ainda contribui diretamente para a inserção da geração fotovoltaica com a proposição de uma ferramenta de previsão da potência injetada na rede. Em termos práticos, a inserção em grande escala da geração fotovoltaica é avaliada em um estudo de caso no sistema elétrico isolado de Fernando de Noronha, onde os efeitos de uma participação elevada já podem ser percebidos. Restrições de ordem técnica não foram verificadas no estudo de caso, porém observou-se a necessidade da atualizar a regulamentação vigente. During recent years, Brazil has been experienced an increasing integration of intermittent sources of energy into its power system, especially wind and solar photovoltaic. Photovoltaic generation, which now accounts for less than 1% of installed capacity in the National Interconnected System, will certainly reach a significant participation on the electrical energy generation in the next decade. This will raise many discussions about the problems, as well as their respective solutions, of large-scale integration of photovoltaic generation into the power system, especially due to the natural intermittence of the primary resource. These discussions are important, inevitable and, considering the amount of time required for paradigm shifts to occur in a sector as complex as the electrical, also urgent, so they should be started as soon as possible so that the electrical sector wont be taken by surprise by a movement it wont be mature enough to deal with. This work deals, from a technical point of view, with the effects of large-scale integration of photovoltaic generation into the power system, seeking, on the one hand, to examine the real dimension of the problem, and, on the other hand, to show that there are means and technologies currently available to overcome the possible negative impacts. In addition, this work also contributes directly to the integration of the photovoltaic generation proposing a photovoltaic power forecast tool. In practical terms, the large-scale integration of photovoltaic generation is evaluated in a case study in the isolated power system of Fernando de Noronha, where the effects of a high penetration can already be perceived. Technical constraints were not verified in the case study, but the need for regulation updates was observed.

In an urban environment, grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic (PV) systems can be subject to complex shading patterns. The study of the shadows projected by nearby buildings and other elements around a PV surface permits cutting down energy losses due to the module’s partial shading and improving the system’s performance ratio, so that the energy production costs can be lower. This paper presents a methodology that estimates the shading factor and irradiation on a three-dimensional model of a receiving surface in an urban environment. The main innovations introduced by this methodology are the building of a shading matrix composed by direct shading factor values around the whole sky dome and the analysis of the shading impacts on direct beam, isotropic diffuse, circumsolar diffuse and horizon brightening diffuse solar radiation components. The shading matrix improves the time spent on long simulation periods and permits an easy numerical integration over the sky to obtain the diffuse shading factors. Using this feature, a plug-in to the Google SketchUp three-dimensional modeling software was built to test this methodology. A series of similar results were obtained between actual measurements and estimates conducted by the plug-in.

Fundamenta-se uma hipótese de reconstrução das formas pronominais que teriam constituído o sistema pessoal do Proto-Jê, com base em dados de línguas dos três ramos da família Jê – o setentrional, o central e o meridional. De fundamental importância neste estudo é a identificação de princípios que teriam orientado a distribuição das formas reconstruídas com núcleos sintáticos específicos.

Este artigo tem o intuito de avaliar as mudanças no consumo de alimentos na China e seu impacto sobre as exportações agroindustriais brasileiras. O crescimento econômico chinês provocou nas últimas décadas importantes mudanças na estrutura mundial da demanda por alimentos. Em decorrência dessas transformações, ocorreram importantes aumentos das exportações brasileiras de origem agrícola para a China. As análises apresentadas no trabalho baseiam-se na sistematização de informações sobre o consumo disponíveis no site da Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) e sobre o comércio exterior do Brasil fornecidas pela Secretaria de Comércio Exterior (SECEX) e pelo Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA). Dentre os resultados encontrados, podem ser destacadas a redução já observada do dinamismo em muitos dos mercados de alimentos na China, a baixa penetração das importações nos mercados chineses de alimentos para uso humano e a forte concentração das exportações agroindustriais brasileiras para o país em um número pequeno de cadeias produtivas. This paper analyzes the changes in food consumption in China and its impact on Brazilian agribusiness exports. Chinese economic growth in recent decades has caused major structural changes in world demand for food and huge increases in Brazilian exports of agricultural origin to China. The analysis is based on consumption information made available by FAO and the foreign trade of Brazil provided by SECEX. We have analyzed the data on Chinese consumption of most food products and by contrasting them with the path of consumption in richer countries, searched for evidences of market saturation. The main findings are: (i) evidences of declining growth rates in most food markets in China; (ii) for some very important foodstuffs, the achievement of consumption levels close to the Japanese and Korean standards; (iii) low penetration of imports in the Chinese markets of final food products for human use; and (iv) high concentration of Brazilian agribusiness exports to the country in a small number of productive chains.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-16T18:48:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-07-16T19:06:19Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S0104-530X2012000200013.pdf: 319364 bytes, checksum: 0e4b9b8075575dee5a6362aa756930a9 (MD5) Este artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a extensão das mudanças nas estratégias tecnológicas de um grupo de empresas farmacêuticas de capital nacional ensejadas por alterações no ambiente institucional ocorridas na década de 1990, como as leis de patentes e do medicamento genérico. Essas mudanças institucionais poderiam induzir transformações na inserção de mercado e na posição competitiva dessas empresas e desencadear um processo de intensificação do esforço de pesquisa e desenvolvimento de tecnologia farmacêutica no país, com ampliação dos recursos dedicados a esse fim, montagem de novas estruturas organizacionais e formação de esquemas de cooperação com agentes externos às empresas. Do ponto de vista metodológico, esta pesquisa, embora precedida de uma revisão abrangente da literatura pertinente, caracteriza-se como um estudo de multicasos. As empresas que compõem a amostra pesquisada foram definidas a partir do cruzamento de dois critérios: i) são todas empresas de porte relevante, situadas entre as maiores no ranking nacional do setor; e ii) a identificação na literatura setorial de casos que sugeriam inflexão nas estratégias tecnológicas. A pesquisa confirmou que as empresas estudadas passaram por uma significativa intensificação do esforço tecnológico, o que não impede que, relativamente ao padrão de concorrência vigente em escala internacional, esses esforços continuem a ser em média pequenos e tenham impactos modestos. The aim of this research is to analyze the extension of changes in technological strategies of a group of Brazilian pharmaceutical companies, which we believe were induced by transformations in the institutional environment during the 1990s. Major institutional changes, such as the enacting of laws that recognized drug patents rights and fostered generic drugs market, have strengthened the market insertion and competitive position of these companies, what would enable an increase in research and development efforts in Brazil. In addition to the literature on technology strategy and drug industry, this study was based on interviews with six Brazilian pharmaceutical companies, all of which were ranked among the top national companies in the industry and have been considered in previous studies particularly active in the process of changing technological strategies. This research confirmed a significant intensification of technology efforts carried out by Brazilian drug companies. Nevertheless, the R&D intensity is still far below the global pattern and innovative impacts are slight. Universidade Federal de São Carlos Departamento de Engenharia de Produção

This paper presents the main problems found in photovoltaic systems in the Amazon Region and the actions to be performed for restructuring and correcting the operation of such systems. These problems and solutions are exemplified on the basis of the diagnosis and revitalization of the 2.5-kWp photovoltaic installation that belongs to the central module of the Uacari Floating Lodging House. The paper was accomplished as part of the agreement between the Group of Studies and Development of Energy Alternatives (GEDAE) and the Mamiraua Institute of Sustainable Development to assess several photovoltaic facilities in the area covered by the institute. Concluding the paper, some operational results of the revitalized system are presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PURPOSE: To develop an easily reproducible model of acute lung injury due to experimental muscle trauma in healthy rats. METHODS: Eighteen adult Wistar rats were randomized in 3 groups (n=6): G-1- control, G-2 - saline+trauma and G-3 - dexamethasone+trauma. Groups G-1 and G-2 were treated with saline 2,0ml i.p; G-3 rats were treated with dexamethasone (DE) (2 mg/kg body weight i.p.). Saline and DE were applied 2h before trauma and 12h later. Trauma was induced in G-2 and G-3 anesthetized (tribromoethanol 97% 100 ml/kg i.p.) rats by sharp section of anterior thigh muscles just above the knee, preserving major vessels and nerves. Tissue samples (lung) were collected for myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay and histopathological evaluation. RESULTS: Twenty-four hours after muscle injury there was a significant increase in lung neutrophil infiltration, myeloperoxidase activity and edema, all reversed by dexamethasone in G-3. CONCLUSION: Trauma by severance of thigh muscles in healthy rats is a simple and efficient model to induce distant lung lesions.

As empresas de base tecnológica (EBTs) são firmas cuja intensa dinâmica inovativa se sustenta em sólidas competências técnicas, havendo em relação a elas uma expectativa de crescimento acelerado. No entanto, mesmo em países desenvolvidos, as evidências demonstram que ritmos de crescimento realmente elevados são mais exceção do que regra. No Brasil, o foco da maioria dos estudos sobre EBTs é diferente, concentrando-se em fatores que restringem seu sucesso, como experiência gerencial e disponibilidade de capital. Baseando-se em ampla pesquisa de campo e num indicador robusto de crescimento empresarial, este artigo pretende abordar a questão da expansão dessas empresas, analisando sua relação com elementos que as caracterizam, como grau de consolidação, inserção de mercado e apoio por políticas públicas. Entre os resultados, destacam-se uma taxa de crescimento que, embora muito variada, é geralmente expressiva - mediana de 15,3% - e não se relaciona diretamente com a intensidade do apoio por políticas públicas.Technology-Based Firms (TBFs) are companies with intensive innovation dynamics based on technical competences, and for which high growth rates are expected. Nevertheless, even in developed countries, the evidence suggests that significantly high growth rates are more the exception than the rule. In Brazil, most studies on TBFs focus on factors that limit their success, such as managerial experience and capital availability. Based on extensive field research and on a reliable enterprise growth rate indicator, this article aims to evaluate the expansion of those firms, analyzing its relation to key elements such as degree of consolidation, market insertion, and public policy support. We found a growth rate which, although widely varied amongst firms, was significant and was not directly related to the amount of public policy support.

The performance and the uncertainty of receptor models (RMs) were assessed in intercomparison exercises employing real-world and synthetic input datasets. To that end, the results obtained by different practitioners using ten different RMs were compared with a reference. In order to explain the differences in the performances and uncertainties of the different approaches, the apportioned mass, the number of sources, the chemical profiles, the contribution-to-species and the time trends of the sources were all evaluated using the methodology described in Bells et al. (2015). In this study, 87% of the 344 source contribution estimates (SCEs) reported by participants in 47 different source apportionment model results met the 50% standard uncertainty quality objective established for the performance test. In addition, 68% of the SCE uncertainties reported in the results were coherent with the analytical uncertainties in the input data. The most used models, EPA-PMF v.3, PMF2 and EPA-CMB 8.2, presented quite satisfactory performances in the estimation of SCEs while unconstrained models, that do not account for the uncertainty in the input data (e.g. APCS and FA-MLRA), showed below average performance. Sources with well-defined chemical profiles and seasonal time trends, that make appreciable contributions (>10%), were those better quantified by the models while those with contributions to the PM mass close to 1% represented a challenge. The results of the assessment indicate that RMs are capable of estimating the contribution of the major pollution source categories over a given time window with a level of accuracy that is in line with the needs of air quality management. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Interactions between firms and universities are key building blocks of innovation systems. This book focuses on those interactions in developing countries, presenting studies based on fresh empirical material prepared by research teams in 12 countries from three continents. The result is a more universal and dynamic view of the shaping and reshaping of interactions between firms and universities throughout different countries and phases of development. There are dimensions of those interactions that cannot be seen in the US, Europe or Japan. There are aspects and features of interactions that cannot be seen when we investigate Uganda, China or Mexico alone. In a time of increasing internationalization, interactions between firms and universities must be investigated tracking their international linkages. Professor Richard Nelson (Columbia University) writes in his preface: "The studies reported in this book are among the first to be directed to what is going on in developing countries".

In this paper, a methodology using a nonparametric model is used to forecast AC power output of PV plants using as inputs several forecasts of meteorological variables from a Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model and actual AC power measurements of PV plants. The methodology was built upon the R environment and uses Quantile Regression Forests as machine learning tool to forecast the AC power with a confidence interval. Real data from five PV plants was used to validate the methodology, and results show that the daily production of individual plants can be predicted with a skill score up to 0.361.

Trabajo presentado a la 31st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC). Hamburgo, 2015. Incluye póster In this paper, a comparison between two approaches to predict the AC power output of PV systems is carried out in terms of forecast performance. Each approach uses one of the two main types of PV modeling, parametric and nonparametric, and both use as inputs several forecasts of meteorological variables from a Numerical Weather Prediction model. Furthermore, actual AC power measurements of a PV plant are used to train the nonparametric model, to adjust the parameters of the different PV components models used in the parametric approach and to assess the quality of the forecasts. The approaches presented similar behavior, although the nonparametric approach, based on Quantile Regression Forests, showed smaller biased errors due to the machine learning tool used. This work has been partially financed by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission with the Project Photovoltaic Cost Reduction, Reliability, Operational Performance, Prediction and Simulation (PVCROPS—Grant Agreement No. 308468).

Phenomena of overirradiance have been pointed all over the World. This note presents the most extreme enhancement event reported in Brazil, which contains an irradiance reading of 1590 W/m2 measured in Sao Paulo (latitude 23°32′S) at relatively low altitude (760 m a.s.l.).

Este trabalho propõe um procedimento para qualificar sistemas fotovoltaicos conectados à rede, o qual possui dois focos principais: o comissionamento e a caracterização da produção de energia. Também resume alguns aspectos normativos relacionados aos sistemas fotovoltaicos, apresenta os principais parâmetros de desempenho utilizados para caracterizar um sistema fotovoltaico, propõe uma metodologia para calcular a energia injetada na rede, a qual incorpora modelos matemáticos e procedimentos de medição, tanto novos quanto convencionais, e aplica essa metodologia em um estudo de caso de um sistema fotovoltaico real. This work proposes a procedure for qualifying grid-connected photovoltaic systems, which has two main focuses: the commissioning and the characterization of energy production. The work also summarizes some regulatory aspects related to photovoltaic systems, presents the main parameters used to characterize the performance of a photovoltaic system, proposes a methodology to calculate the energy injected into the grid, which incorporates both new and conventional mathematical models and measurement procedures, and applies this methodology to a case of study of a real photovoltaic system.

Este artigo sintetiza alguns dos resultados de um amplo levantamento realizado junto a empresas brasileiras sobre as relações que elas mantêm com universidades e institutos públicos de pesquisa. Dos vários recortes possíveis, privilegia-se aqui a discriminação dos dados por categorias de empresas classificadas com base na intensidade tecnológica. Um instrumento de análise importante é a comparação com os resultados de um survey semelhante realizado nos EUA (Cohen et al., 2002), o qual precedeu e inspirou o levantamento feito no Brasil. Entre as achados da pesquisa, destaca-se o fato de as empresas brasileiras interrogadas atribuírem maior importância às universidades como fonte de informação para suas atividades de desenvolvimento tecnológico do que suas congêneres norte-americanas. A seção final do artigo, além de resumir outras conclusões relevantes, procura apresentar uma interpretação para o resultado mais importante, que foge bastante ao senso comum sobre o tema.

To evaluate the effect of enteral nutrition (EN) supplemented with l-glutamine on glycolytic parameters, inflammation, immune function, and oxidative stress in moderately ill intensive care patients with sepsis.Thirty patients received EN. Fifteen patients received EN supplemented with glutamine (30 g; GLN group) for 2 d followed by EN supplemented with calcium caseinate (30 g, CAS group), also over 2 d. The other 15 patients received EN with calcium caseinate (30 g; CAS group) for 2 d followed by EN with glutamine (30 g; GLN group), also over 2 days. One washout day with only EN was provided between every 2-d period of EN plus supplementation to all patients. Blood samples were taken before and after supplementation.There were no changes in glycolytic parameters in either group. Leukocytes decreased in the two groups (from 13 650 to 11 500 in the CAS group, P = 0.019; from 12.850 to 11.000 in the GLN group, P = 0.046). Lymphocytes increased in the GLN group (from 954 to 1916, P0.0001) and were more numerous after glutamine supplementation (from 1916 to 1085, P0.0001, GLN versus CAS). No significant changes were observed in interleukin levels, but urea levels were higher in the GLN compared with the CAS group (50.0-47.0, P = 0.030). Glutathione plasma concentrations did not differ significantly between the groups. No significant changes were observed in the plasma glutamine and glutamate concentrations.The EN supplemented with glutamine increased the lymphocyte count and helped to decrease lipid peroxidation but presented no effect on the antioxidant glutathione capacity and on cytokine concentrations or glycolytic parameters.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of pre-conditioning with L-alanyl- glutamine (L-Ala-Gln) in rats subjected to total hepatic ischemia. METHODS: Thirty Wistar rats, average weight 300g, were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n=10): G-1 - Saline, G-2- L-Ala-Gln, G-3-control (Sham). G-1 and G-3 groups were treated with saline 2.0 ml or L-Ala-Gln (0.75mg/Kg) intraperitoneally (ip) respectively, 2 hours before laparotomy. Anesthetized rats were subjected to laparotomy and total hepatic ischemia (30 minutes) induced by by clamping of portal triad. Control group underwent peritoneal puncture, two hours before the sham operation (laparotomy only). At the end of ischemia (G1 and G2), the liver was reperfused for 60 minutes. Following reperfusion blood samples were collected for evaluation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. Liver (medium lobe) was removed for immunohistochemistry study with antibody for Caspase-3. RESULTS: It was found a significant decrease (p