Prospecção dos riscos ambientais das nanotecnologias aplicadas à agricultura.

Abstract: A nanotecnologia oferece a perspectiva de grandes avanços que permitirão melhorar a qualidade de vida e preservar o meio ambiente. Apesar do aumento do emprego das nanotecnologias seu potencial encontra-se ainda reprimido devido à fase inicial do seu desenvolvimento no Brasil e à ausência de metodologias que tornem suas avaliações de riscos uma prática corrente. Desta forma, formulamos alguns indicadores ambientais, toxicológicos e ecotoxicólogicos para avaliar o potencial de risco dos produtos nanotecnológicos para fins agrícolas e, assim, orientar os especialistas sobre importantes aspectos da segurança da nanotecnologia

Consultation of scientific experts as a preliminary approach aiming to contribute with the discussion of nanotechnology regulation.

The expansion of the applications of nanostructured materials in various sectors of the economy has alerted the scientific community to the need to consider and anticipate the importance of a regulatory definition for the Nanotechnology. The regulatory requisite has been often decisive for companies opting for the use of new technologies and especially for decision on investment in some countries that have a regulatory framework better structured. In order to identify the best way to lead the discussion that contributes to the subject of regulation in Brazil it has been organized a workshop with the presence of experts from the scientific community and policy makers. As a result, questions were developed that addressed the regulatory process of nanotechnology in order to analyze the knowledge and the placement of specialists who are directly linked to the development of nanotechnologies. These were made available for 214 active specialists in related areas of Nanotechnology in a questionnaire formatted for website applying the Delphi technique in Limesurvey platform. The analysis of the results and consolidation of the responses was made by the project team and invited a panel of experts to discuss the query results and set the directions. In general, the integration of data obtained in the remote and face-to-face consultation allows to infer that the definition of general protocols and some specific protocols with a description of the most important tests to evaluate the safety, focusing on toxicological and ecotoxicological tests, could support both the scientific community as the regulators agents to base the discussion of the most relevant concerns in this area

Risk indicators of the nanoparticles-a decision making process aiming to support the nanomaterials development.

Nanotechnology allows us to develop high quality products with wide application in agriculture, environmental protection, among others. However, some questions arose about the safety of these products. Therefore, criteria to assess the safety of nanoproducts, especially for those that already are on the market has fundamental importance. The hazard or risk identification aims to identify potential adverse effects on the health or the environment that are associated with exposure to a biological, physical or chemical agent. Thus, this work presents some key indicators to assess the risk potential of nanoparticles available today. These indicators were developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts gathered research project coordinated and financed by Embrapa (Rede AgroNano) from technical variables formulated and grounded in the scientific literature and reports from international agencies. Risk indicators were validated remotely by experts from various fields of development and application of nanotechnology through a questionnaire developed according to the Delphi technique, which was made available on the website of Embrapa Environment. For the construction of this questionnaire was used Limesurvey, an open source software developed in PHP and using MySQL database. After statistical and technical analysis this information was validated by experts and stakeholders in technical workshops. According to them, these indicators represent the most critical aspects to the development of nanotechnology. These indicators are intended to help developers of these technologies to reassess the methodologies used for the development of nanotechnologies in order to mitigate a potential risk

A nonlinear, data-driven, ANNs-based approach to culture-led development policies in rural areas: The case of Gjakove and Pee districts, Western Kosovo

We develop a computational approach to the analysis of cultural vibrancy and to the role of the cultural and cre-ative sectors in the socio-economic organization of two districts of Western Kosovo, Gjakove and Pee. Our anal-ysis is built on a geolocalized mapping of the cultural activities and facilities, and on the main socio-economic variables for the two districts, and makes use of innovative data analysis techniques: Theory of Impossible Words (TIW), the Topological Weighted Centroid (TWC), and the AutoCM ANN. We find that the dynamics of cul-tural vibrancy of the territory is mainly driven by the competing attraction pulls of the nearby countries of Serbia and Albania, that also form the region's main and often conflicting ethnicities, and that such dynamics are likely to further polarize in the future. We also find that the cultural system plays a marginal role in the territory's socio-economic organization. This situation makes a case for a more active role of cultural policy in shaping future local developmental models in rural areas and in acting as an agent of social cohesion.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Indicadores de risco do desenvolvimento das nanotecnologias: uma ferramenta de apoio à decisão.

Resumo: A nanotecnologia representa atualmente um negócio mundial que movimenta mais de 100 bilhões de dólares e atrai cada vez mais recursos humanos e financeiros, devido ao seu enorme potencial de aplicação. Assim, metodologias que permitam avaliar a segurança dos nanoprodutos, especialmente aqueles que já encontram-se no mercado, são de fundamental importância. No entanto, a área do conhecimento que envolve as avaliações de riscos das nanotecnologias encontra-se ainda bastante incipiente no Brasil. A criação de uma metodologia para a Avaliação dos Riscos das nanotecnologias representa uma medida mitigatória eficaz para enfrentar os desafios cada vez maiores identificados pelos cientistas e legisladores, podendo atuar em três momentos: prevenindo, monitorando e restaurando. Desta forma, são apresentados nesse trabalho 14 indicadores para a avaliar o potencial de risco. Esses foram validados pelos especialistas da área de nanotecnologia por meio da Técnica Delphi de consulta aos especialistas. Segundo eles, esses indicadores representam de modo mais completo os aspectos mais críticos relacionados ao desenvolvimento da Nanotecnologia. Estes indicadores, de modo geral, têm a finalidade de auxiliar os desenvolvedores desta tecnologia para que reavaliem as metodologias empregadas para o desenvolvimento das nanotecnologias com a finalidade de mitigar um provável risco

Subsídios técnicos para formulação do processo regulatório das nanotecnologias no Brasil: consulta a especialistas como uma abordagem preliminar.

O presente trabalho visa auxiliar os legisladores quanto ao processo regulatório das nanotecnologias inseridas no mercado. Com a finalidade de identificar o melhor modo de conduzir a discussão que contribua com a regulamentação do tema no Brasil foi organizado um workshop com a presença de especialistas da comunidade científica e legisladores. Como resultado foram elaboradas questões que abordavam o processo regulatório da nanotecnologia com a finalidade de analisar o conhecimento e o posicionamento dos especialistas que estão diretamente ligados ao desenvolvimento das nanotecnologias. Essas foram disponibilizadas para 214 especialistas atuantes nas áreas correlatas da Nanotecnologia no formato de um questionário-web aplicando a Técnica Delphi, através da plataforma do Limesurvey. A análise dos resultados obtidos e consolidação das respostas foi feita com a equipe do projeto e convidados em um painel de especialistas para discutir os resultados da consulta e definir os direcionamentos. De modo geral, a integração dos dados obtidos permitiu inferir que a definição de protocolos gerais e alguns protocolos específicos com descrição dos ensaios mais relevantes para avaliação da segurança, com foco em testes toxicológicos e ecotoxicológicos, poderiam apoiar tanto o meio científico quanto os agentes reguladores para versarem sobre as preocupações mais relevantes nesta área. ?- This paper aims to assist legislators in the regulatory process of nanotechnologies available in the market. In order to identify the best way to lead the discussion that contributes to the subject of regulation in Brazil it has been organized a workshop with the presence of experts from the scientific community and policy makers. As a result, questions were developed that addressed the regulatory process of nanotechnology in order to analyze the knowledge and the placement of specialists who are directly linked to the development of nanotechnologies. These were made available for 214 active specialists in related areas of Nanotechnology in a questionnaire formatted for website applying the Delphi technique in Limesurvey platform. The analysis of the results and consolidation of the responses was made by the project team and invited a panel of experts to discuss the query results and set the directions. In general, the integration of data obtained in the remote and face-to-face consultation allows to infer that the definition of general protocols and some specific protocols with a description of the most important tests to evaluate the safety, focusing on toxicological and ecotoxicological tests, could support both the scientific community as the regulators agents to base the discussion of the most relevant concerns in this area

Quantum Characterization of a Werner-like Mixture

We introduce a Werner-like mixture [R. F. Werner, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 40}, 4277 (1989)] by considering two correlated but different degrees of freedom, one with discrete variables and the other with continuous variables. We evaluate the mixedness of this state, and its degree of entanglement establishing its usefulness for quantum information processing like quantum teleportation. Then, we provide its tomographic characterization. Finally, we show how such a mixture can be generated and measured in a trapped system like one electron in a Penning trap.Comment: 8 pages ReVTeX, 8 eps figure

Intention to be vaccinated for COVID-19 among italian nurses during the pandemic

Background: While the COVID-19 pandemic has spread globally, health systems are overwhelmed by both direct and indirect mortality from other treatable conditions. COVID-19 vaccination was crucial to preventing and eliminating the disease, so vaccine development for COVID-19 was fast-tracked worldwide. Despite the fact that vaccination is commonly recognized as the most effective approach, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccine hesitancy is a global health issue. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of nurses in four different regions in Italy between 20 and 28 December 2020 to obtain data on the acceptance of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccination in order to plan specific interventions to increase the rate of vaccine coverage. Results: A total of 531 out of the 5000 nurses invited completed the online questionnaire. Most of the nurses enrolled in the study (73.4%) were female. Among the nurses, 91.5% intended to accept vaccination, whereas 2.3% were opposed and 6.2% were undecided. Female sex and confidence in vaccine efficacy represent the main predictors of vaccine intention among the study population using a logistic regression model, while other factors including vaccine safety concerns (side effects) were non-significant. Conclusions: Despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, intention to be vaccinated was suboptimal among nurses in our sample. We also found a significant number of people undecided as to whether to accept the vaccine. Contrary to expectations, concerns about the safety of the vaccine were not found to affect the acceptance rate; nurses’ perception of vaccine efficacy and female sex were the main influencing factors on attitudes toward vaccination in our sample. Since the success of the COVID-19 immunization plan depends on the uptake rate, these findings are of great interest for public health policies. Interventions aimed at increasing employee awareness of vaccination efficacy should be promoted among nurses in order to increase the number of vaccinated people