National Institute of Statistics and Geography

This article aims to demonstrate the evolution of public health policies for the elderly in Brazil, starting from the 1988 Federal Constitution, with the main normative milestones and governmental actions that resulted in the National Health Policy for the Elderly (PNSPI). In the country, the number of elderly people has surpassed the number of young people, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), and it is the responsibility of the State, the family, and society to guarantee the rights and possibilities of existing with dignity and quality of life for the elderly. Regarding methodology, a descriptive and qualitative literature review was conducted. The purpose of public policies should be to ensure the independence of elderly people through coherent, effective health measures aligned with the principles of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). It concludes that the pursuit of healthy aging is directly related to people's quality of life, and health care is an indispensable provision, as are public policies, individual and collective initiatives. It is always important to emphasize that public policies should be developed and implemented in a sustainable way, continuously monitoring evolving social processes that highlight deficiencies, vulnerabilities, violence, and inequalities in different aspects of human life. Therefore, it is suggested that research on this topic continue to be encouraged.

Abstract It is well known that the amount of damage caused by lightning strikes to protected composite airframe structures depends on the paint characteristics, often applied on the surface of composite structures to protect from environmental effects and to personalise a product. In this work, physically based models of the mechanical loads induced by lightning strikes are employed in the generation of the mechanical overpressure fields due to a simulated lightning strike, while accounting for the paint thickness. These fields are then implemented into a three-dimensional finite element framework and combined with a damage model to predict the effect of paint thickness on the mechanical damage in composite structures subjected to this type of events. These models accurately predict the increase of damage extent with the increase of paint thickness, which is corroborated by experimental observations from industry and by the experimentally observed trends reported in literature.

<title>Abstract</title> <bold>Introduction:</bold> Unilateral pontine stroke can impair upper limb motor function due to damage in brainstem motor pathways. An emerging intervention approach proposes the combination of neuroplasticity-inducing techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with task-specific training exercises like robot-assisted therapy. <bold>Objective:</bold> To examine the effects of primary motor cortex dual-tDCS (excitatory ipsilesional and inhibitory contralesional) combined with collaborative robot-assisted therapy on hand/upper limb motor function and fatigue of a patient with unilateral chronic pontine stroke. <bold>Methodology:</bold> A 10-session protocol combining dual-tDCS with a collaborative robot-assisted upper limb exercises was employed. Outcome measures (assessed pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up) included hand/upper limb motor function (manual dexterity, hand grip strength, motor reaction time, shoulder flexion range of motion) and perceived physical and mental fatigue. A structured interview was conducted to capture the participant’s subjective perception of improvement. <bold>Results:</bold> The patient showed significant post-intervention improvements in manual dexterity, shoulder flexion range of motion, and hand grip strength, while also displaying reduction in physical fatigue. These results were largely retained after the 1-month follow-up period. The structured interview indicated that the patient reported greater participation in daily activities, with less perceived fatigue. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> The combination of dual-tDCS with robot-assisted therapy in a patient with unilateral chronic pontine stroke demonstrated positive effects on hand/upper limb motor function as well as on physical fatigue. This intervention protocol may be a useful and engaging complementary rehabilitation approach for several stroke subtypes.

The Food Energy Intake (FEI) method is among the most widely used approaches for establishing income poverty lines, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where it is often used as a baseline to define official poverty lines. This method links poverty measurement to the consumption of calories and other essential nutrients, identifying households that lack the resources necessary to meet minimum nutritional requirements. However, due to data limitations, the construction of poverty lines based on the FEI method relies on a series of assumptions that are often left to the discretion of specialists, without adequate discussion regarding their appropriateness or potential implications. These assumptions can significantly influence the resulting poverty lines and, consequently, the poverty estimates derived from them. In this study, we focus on the Mexican official method of poverty measurement to explore an often overlooked step in poverty measurement: the treatment of extreme values in nutrient availability estimates constructed using household survey data. While this may initially appear to be a minor technical consideration, we demonstrate that the criteria used to identify and potentially exclude outlying observations exert a substantial influence on poverty metrics, which reveals weak fulfillment of the FEI assumptions, as well as important limitations in the expenditure data. This underscores the critical importance of adopting transparent, rigorous, and consistent methodologies for managing outliers, alongside a careful evaluation of other assumptions that are commonly overlooked during the poverty line construction process. We assess the sensitivity of poverty estimates in Mexico employing twelve different outlier-handling methodologies. For each method, we compute the corresponding poverty lines and poverty rates. Our findings reveal substantial variation in extreme poverty rates—ranging from 10.7% to 26.7%—solely attributable to the criteria adopted for the treatment of extreme values. Our analysis suggests that such sensitivity may originate in the decision to use income, rather than expenditure, as the underlying welfare measure in the implementation of the FEI method. We conclude that addressing the treatment of outliers is essential for ensuring consistent and reliable poverty measures, but a thorough revision of the method adopted by the Mexican government to measure poverty is essential.

Cyber-resilience, understood as the ability of systems to anticipate, respond, and recover from digital threats, can be significantly strengthened through the use of intelligent agents based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. These agents, designed to operate autonomously and adaptively, improve early intrusion detection, dynamic risk mitigation, and the automated restoration of critical services. This article analyzes how the integration of predictive algorithms, behavioral analysis models, and distributed decision-making mechanisms helps to increase effectiveness against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. The proposal is validated using a virtual lab built with open-source tools, its configuration documented and exemplified in a collaborative GIT repository. It is concluded that while intelligent agents represent a key tool for making cyber-physical systems resilient, their implementation requires a careful balance between automation and human supervision in order to preserve reliability, adaptability, and trust in constantly evolving digital environments.

It is unclear the number of times a screwdriver may be reused without loosening its efficacy or inducing damage to implant screws while keeping appropriate torque values. Evaluate the effect of the screwdriver and internal threads on the tightening efficacy by assessing the reverse torque value (RTV). The efficacy was tested with four groups of screws: two titanium groups and two gold-platted (n=5). Each screw was tightened 10 times at 20 Ncm using the screwdriver attached to ISD900 (NSK®). In the first protocol one implant was used for the five screws. In the second protocol for each screw a new implant was used. At each untightening, the RTV was measured and recorded. RTVs for Gold were statistically lower compared to the Titanium. The RTVs differed among the tested screws. In the first protocol, the first serie tightening/untightening differed statistically from the last three series. Titanium screws from Zimmer Biomet achieve better RTV than gold-platted. By increasing the number cycles it is expected to have a decrease in the RTV. The extensive use of screwdrivers and the internal threads of the dental implants might be factors influencing the loss of RTV.

The study of fatigue and fracture behaviors in engineered components remains a critical area across multiple disciplines. Limits on materials behavior are among the most significant technical challenges to enhancing the safety and reliability of engineering systems. Thus, accurately defining recent advancements in analytical methods and testing techniques within fatigue and fracture mechanics for engineered structures, components, and materials is essential. This analysis encompasses both experimental research and recent developments in modeling approaches. Key areas of interest include applications of emerging analytical tools and novel experimental techniques to assess and improve durability and damage tolerance using multiscale or multiphysics-based approaches; studies on the effects of additive manufacturing processes on fatigue and fracture properties; and implications of improved modeling and experimental capabilities on fatigue life forecasting and structural health monitoring strategies. In this context, a special issue in Materials Performance and Characterization offers readers valuable insights for their research. The call for papers attracted high-quality contributions from leading scientists and engineers resulting in 11 full-length manuscripts. The main topics covered include fatigue crack growth fracture, propagation, toughness fatigue, and damage failure inspection repair. The editorial teams extend their heartfelt thanks to the authors and reviewers for their dedication and to the ASTM staff for their support in bringing this issue to publication. We hope these papers provide valuable contributions to ongoing research efforts in fatigue and fracture mechanics.

This study developed a comprehensive framework using Google Earth Engine to efficiently generate a forest fire inventory dataset, which enhanced data accessibility without specialized knowledge or access to private datasets. The framework is applicable globally, and the datasets generated are freely accessible and shareable. By implementing the framework in Peninsular Malaysia, significant forest fire factors were successfully extracted, including the Keetch–Byram Drought Index (KBDI), soil moisture, temperature, windspeed, land surface temperature (LST), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI), landcover, and precipitation, among others. Additionally, this study also adopted large language models, specifically GPT-4 with the Noteable plugin, for preliminary data analysis to assess the dataset’s validity. Although the plugin effectively performed basic statistical analyses and visualizations, it demonstrated limitations, such as selectively dropping or choosing only relevant columns for tests and automatically modifying scales. These behaviors underscore the need for users to perform additional checks on the codes generated to ensure that they accurately reflect the intended analyses. The initial findings indicate that factors such as KBDI, LST, climate water deficit, and precipitation significantly impact forest fire occurrences in Peninsular Malaysia. Future research should explore extending the framework’s application to various regions and further refine it to accommodate a broader range of factors. Embracing and rigorously validating large language model technologies, alongside developing new tools and plugins, are essential for advancing the field of data analysis.

La eficiencia en el uso de recursos públicos por parte de las instituciones gubernamentales es una exigencia latente de los sistemas democráticos. Lo cual se concreta por medio de políticas públicas y mecanismos que se establecen como esfuerzos para propiciar la eficiencia en el quehacer gubernamental y abatir la corrupción, buscando que en el servicio público se trabaje bajo la lógica de hacer “más con menos” cuando de recursos se trata. En el presente artículo se muestra cómo es el proceso de adquisiciones y contrataciones públicas en México, prestando especial atención a los mecanismos para buscar las mejores condiciones en cuanto a precio en las contrataciones y adquisiciones públicas. Presentando cómo los Índices Nacionales de Precios realizados por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) pueden ser utilizados como fuente complementaria de información para propiciar la eficiencia en el uso de recursos públicos.