A flexible multicriteria decision-making methodology to support the strategic management of Science,Technology and Innovation research funding programs

Research funding programs are a policy instrument utilized by governments to influence the innovation process. They are usually elaborated, launched and managed by research funding agencies. In order to select the most adequate research projects, agencies often rely on the peer review process.This paper introduces a methodology to support funding decisions based on the peer review process. The methodology involves the use of a multicriteria decision model to support the assessment, evaluation, prioritization and selection of applications, under a multi-step decision-making process, which fits into a strategic management cycle within the agency. The Multiattribute Value Theory, being considered under a Value Focused Thinking approach, provides a basis for the construction of the multicriteria decision model. The good practices in peer review and also a logical framework for program management are considered by the methodology.A pilot study, presented in the paper, involved a retrospective implementation of a peer review process in the context of a program launched by the Ministry for Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications and the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development, in Brazil. The methodology allowed a clear distinction of roles. The agency staff in the role of decision-makers was responsible for making value judgments on behalf of the agency. The experts, in the role of committee members and ad hoc reviewers, contributed with their expertise by providing objective assessments. Such assessments served as a basis for evaluating the applications, characterizing the possible portfolios, and can be considered as data in future program evaluation studies.     

Hopf structure in nambu-lien-algebras

We define and study the Hopf structures in the ternary (and n-ary) Nambu-Lie algebra. The fundamental concepts of 3-coalgebra, 3-bialgebra, and Hopf 3-algebra are introduced. Some examples of the Hopf structures and analyzed. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 114, No. 1, pp. 87–93, January, 1998.     

Adsorption of nucleic acid bases on clays: an investigation using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and FT-IR spectroscopy

In the present paper, the adsorption of nucleic acid bases (A, adenine; C, cytosine; U, uracil; and T, thymine) on clays (bentonite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite) was studied at different pH (2.00 and 7.20). It should be pointed out there is no reported study of adsorption of nucleic acid bases on clays using seawater (with the major elements), and a wide range of pH. The main finding of this study was that the ratio of A and T adsorbed on clays ranged from 4.68 to 25.1, much higher than the ratio of their occurrence in organisms ranging from 0.95 to 1.05. The weaker adsorption of U and T on clays raises the question of the possibility of a genetic code based on purines only. The FT-IR spectra at pH 2.00 showed that the interaction of A, C, T, and U with the clays occurs through positively charged, protonated groups. Correspondence: Dr. Dimas A. M. Zaia, Departamento de Química-CCE, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, 86051-990 Londrina-PR, Brazil.     

Estimation of population spectrum for linear processes with random coefficients

A set of time series generated by stationary linear processes with an absolutely continuous spectral distribution is analysed. The time series can then be considered realizations of a linear process of random coefficients. Likewise, each spectral density function is a realization of a stochastic process whose function of means is called a population spectrum. We propose a kernel estimator for the population spectrum and give conditions for its consistency. We then illustrate the properties of this estimator in a simulation study and compare its performance with an alternative parametric estimator that can be found in the literature.      

Branched α-1,4-glucan from the gastropod mollusk Strombus gigas

From the mantle of the Caribbean Sea gastropod molluskStrombus gigas a bioglycan containing carbohydrates (73%), protein (22%), and lipid (about 5%) components has been isolated. It has been shown by hydrolysis, periodate oxidation, and methylation that the bioglycan is a D-glucan constructed of -1,4-bound D-glucose residues and has side chains of D-glucose residues linked by -1,6-bonds.Pacific Ocean Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far Eastern Scientific Center, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Vladivostok. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 36–40, January–February, 1988.     

Note On the equality of star products

We study the problem of finding conditions for two star products of n vectors to be equal when the vectors in each star product are not linearly independent, and the problem of finding conditions for one star product to be zero. We reprove results of M. Marcus and J. Chollet in a very simple way. We present also some open problems.     

EPR study of Cu(II) dopant ions in single crystals of bis(l-asparaginato)Zn(II)

We report an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study at 33.9 GHz and room temperature of oriented single crystal samples of bis(l-asparaginato)Zn(II) doped with Cu(II). The variation of the spectra with magnetic field orientation was measured in three crystal planes (a*b, bc and a*c, with a*=b×c). These spectra display two groups of four peaks arising from the hyperfine interaction with the I_Cu=3/2 nuclear spins of copper. They were assigned to Cu(II) ions in two lattice sites related by a 180° rotation around the b-crystal axis. The g and hyperfine coupling (A) tensors of the Cu(II) ions were evaluated from the single crystal data. Some indeterminacy in the assignment of the signals was avoided measuring the EPR spectrum of a powder sample. Their principal values are g₁=2.060(1), g₂=2.068(2), g₃=2.283(2), and A₁≈0.1×10⁻⁴, A₂=13×10⁻⁴ and A₃=165×10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹. The eigenvectors corresponding to g₃ and A₃ are coincident within the experimental error; the other eigenvectors are rotated 5.6° in the perpendicular plane. Considering the crystal structure of bis(l-asparaginato)Zn(II), our EPR results indicate that the Cu(II) impurities replace Zn(II) ions in the host crystal. We propose a molecular model based on the EPR data and the structural information, and analyse the results comparing the measured values with those obtained in similar systems.     

Determination of cocaine adulterants in human urine by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - This study aimed to determine simultaneously five major street cocaine adulterants (caffeine, lidocaine, phenacetin, diltiazem, and hydroxyzine) in human...     

MSPD procedure for determining buprofezin,tetradifon, vinclozolin,and bifenthrin residues in propolis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A simple and effective extraction method based on matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) was developed to determine bifenthrin, buprofezin, tetradifon, and vinclozolin in propolis using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode (GC–MS, SIM). Different method conditions were evaluated, for example type of solid phase (C₁₈, alumina, silica, and Florisil), the amount of solid phase and eluent (n-hexane, dichloromethane, dichloromethane–n-hexane (8:2 and 1:1, v/v) and dichloromethane–ethyl acetate (9:1, 8:2 and 7:3, v/v)). The best results were obtained using 0.5 g propolis, 1.0 g silica as dispersant sorbent, 1.0 g Florisil as clean-up sorbent, and dichloromethane–ethyl acetate (9:1, v/v) as eluting solvent. The method was validated by analysis of propolis samples fortified at different concentration levels (0.25 to 1.0 mg kg⁻¹). Average recoveries (four replicates) ranged from 67% to 175% with relative standard deviation between 5.6% and 12.1%. Detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.05 to 0.10 mg kg⁻¹ and 0.15 to 0.25 mg kg⁻¹ propolis, respectively.